Independents for Canberra candidates in Brindabella Nicole Lawsonn and Dr Vanessa Picker. Photos: IFC.
Freshly endorsed Independent for Canberra candidate for Brindabella Dr Vanessa Picker has only recently quit the Labor Party but insists she wouldn’t be running if she wasn’t a real independent.
Dr Picker said she was a Labor member for several years, first in NSW and then mainly in the UK with ALP Abroad, but she says her political ambitions met a shut door with Labor and found the party was not a “particularly open system”.
She found there was a lot of stifling of ideas and even overlooking of evidence, something that chafed given her expertise was in evidence-based policy.
“Over time, I became more and more disillusioned with the two-party system,” she said.
But she said it was good to have a mix of people involved in Independents for Canberra, including those with experience in the major parties.
Dr Picker maintained her Labor ties have been severed.
“If I still had an allegiance to the Labor Party, I wouldn’t be running as an independent,” she said.
“Voters are clued in to independents who aren’t truly independent.”
She remains undecided about whether she would support the Liberal Party in the Legislative Assembly if it came to a vote, but she is keeping an open mind.
Recently, Dr Picker returned to Canberra from the UK. Dr Picker is an Erindale College graduate who studied at the University of Oxford and attained a PhD in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation.
She has worked as a government policy adviser, is a high-level cricketer, a former Young Australian of the Year finalist, and is currently doing some work with the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Dr Vanessa Picker on the drive. She made headlines campaigning for Oxford’s women cricketers to play at Lords.
Dr Picker hopes to apply her skills in evidence-based policymaking to pursue effective solutions to the Territory’s problems.
She also wants to bring her own direct experience of domestic abuse, gender-based discrimination and mental health challenges to the table and speak out on behalf of those who can’t speak for themselves.
As a cricketer, Dr Picker had to contend with a backlash from the Oxford University club for campaigning for women to play the annual varsity match at Lords, like the men.
She has also struggled at times with depression and anxiety as a result of that discrimination and domestic abuse.
Returning to Canberra, she sensed that many people were unhappy with the current government and that party politics had failed to deliver the change that was needed.
On the hot-button issue of light rail, she believed the project had lost credibility due to the long delays but that a public transport situation of some kind was needed.
Dr Picker plans to move to the Brindabella electorate where she grew up.
Dr Picker is one of two marque candidates endorsed for Brindabella. The other is former public servant and consultant Nicole Lawsonn.
Ms Lawsonn is a Kambah resident who grew up in Fadden after arriving in Canberra in 1985.
After a long career in the Australian Public Service, she is now a management consultant and facilitator.
Ms Lawsonn said the people of Tuggeranong felt ignored by the ACT Government and promised she would be an advocate for them.
“I will fight for investment in Tuggeranong’s infrastructure, schools, shops and playgrounds,” Ms Lawsonn said.
“Brindabella has been neglected for too long. We need more attention paid to the south for our community to thrive.
“I want to make Tuggeranong safer for children, easier for the older population and more accessible for those with a disability. We also need better service delivery and support for small businesses to prosper here.”
Independents for Canberra is announcing its candidates after a series of town hall meetings where potential candidates made their pitches and were questioned by voters.
It is still to announce a running mate for Mark Richardson in Ginninderra, and candidates for Murrumbidgee, Yerrabi and Kurrajong.
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