31 December 2021

Liberals preselect Jane Hiatt to run in Bean

| Ian Bushnell
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Jane Hiatt

The Liberals’ chosen candidate for Bean, Jane Hiatt, with a recent award from Disaster Relief Australia, where she volunteers. Photo: Facebook.

The Canberra Liberals’ Jane Hiatt will be confirmed as their candidate for Bean in the 2022 Federal election after standing unopposed at the party’s recent preselection.

In his weekly email to members, President John Cziesla said the party’s Management Committee would meet in mid-January to endorse the Bean preselection result, as well as finalise the arrangements for the Canberra preselection on 7 February.

Bean is held by Labor’s David Smith on a healthy 7.5 per cent margin.

Ms Hiatt is an experienced candidate. She contested the seat of Brindabella in the 2020 ACT election, was unsuccessful in the Bean pre-selection in 2019, which was won by Ed Cocks, and in 2016 she was second on the Liberal ticket for the Senate.

She is a small business owner, mother of four, linguist, naval servicewoman, educator and ultra-marathon runner.

She moved with her husband to Canberra after leaving full-time service in the Navy to raise their family in 1993.

READ ALSO Former Wallabies captain David Pocock punts on ACT Senate run

They started a family business in the dental industry. Ms Hiatt says her passion for education prompted her to start her own successful tuition business in 2002 in Tuggeranong.

Ms Hiatt also volunteers for Disaster Relief Australia.

The Liberals preselected Nathan Kuster for the northern seat of Fenner earlier this year while Kacey Lam-Evans will fill the Senate No 2 slot with Senator Zed Seselja.*

Mr Cziesla also noted the entry of former Australian rugby union captain David Pocock into the election arena, running for the Senate.

But he dismissed his chances and expected Senator Seselja to see off this challenger like the many before him.

“No doubt you have all heard the not entirely unexpected announcement that left-wing political activist and former footballer David Pocock has announced he will be running for an ACT Senate seat,” he said.

“Unlike Labor, the Canberra Liberals have never taken a Senate seat for granted and have, and always will, fight for every vote.

“It is, however, also worth noting that in every Federal election since 1977, we have faced a high profile challenger with the accompanying media commentary that the seat is under threat.”

The federal poll is expected to be held in March or May. With opinion polling favouring Labor, Prime Minister Scott Morrison may hold off facing the voters for as long as possible.

*It was originally reported that the Liberals were yet to find candidates for Fenner and the second spot on the Senate list. This was incorrect and the reporter’s error.

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Jane Hyatt is a very decent person. Unfortunately she didn’t get over the line in Brindabella at the last ACT election. The surly, bored and going nowhere Nicole Lawder got in again! But what is it about the Canberra Liberals and why would anyone want to be associated with them? They have now lost 6 elections in a row and are a laughing stock with their Federal and state counterparts. Have a look at the current crop, there is no one in the party worth their salt to advance and become leader! Since the last ACT election and with the departure of Alistair Coe they have had an epiphany under leader Elizabeth Lee and bellicose deputy Jeremy Hanson, trying to present themselves as new and renewed centrists, climate change warriors while still glued to Zed Seselja! I thought they would at least move a little away from hard right Zed on these issues but they keep on loving him, hanging around at shopping centres with his Young Liberal cronies, updating their FB pages with Zed propaganda and posting silly announcements imploring us to vote for him! Can anyone else see the irony, this is the same man who wanted to become ACT Chief Minister who doesn’t believe in Territory rights! He has even voted to deny Canberrans the right to debate Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation despite other jurisdictions allowed this right. Vote this unrepresentative swill out!!

A comment has been mentioned about corruption and branch stacking in the ACT Liberals.
Come to Victoria and see Labour party branch stacking,
including confessions at a recent 2021 corruption trial. Branch stacking also targeted Indian and Somalian voters with fake memberships.
For all those on the left just a reminder that IBAC Ombudsman Deborah Glass found in 2018 that Victorian Labor had misused $388,000 of public money through the red shirts arrangement.

Capital Retro8:26 am 31 Dec 21

Yeah, I’d love to see Ian Bushnell write a critique on that, but I won’t hold my breath.

Why does the Riotact, a website for ACT and the surrounding region, simply refuse to cover Victorian ALP branch stacking. I can only think of one reason.

The Canberra Liberals are a failed hollowed out shell run entirely to keep Zed in the safe Liberal seat.

Cziezla is Canberra’s biggest loser presiding over a humiliating ACT election defeat.

Lee is trying her best but the cupboard is bare while mediocrity reigns.

anthonypesec9:55 am 30 Dec 21

The Canberra Liberals are struggling to find candidates to run for the House of Reps seats. Such is the level of apathy that Jane Hiatt, who is actually a decent candidate, was the ONLY nominee for Bean and she was preselected without anything close to a quorum.

Heaven knows who they will find for Canberra and Fenner. The corrupt party machine has no interest in winning a Reps seat and all the campaign funding will be spent on saving Seselja’s seat. A fortune will be spent on winning 30% of the vote while Seselja sends scaremongering letters that grovel for donations. Meanwhile the same tired old party president John Cziesla, who has presided over humiliating loss after loss, was reelected at the recent AGM.

The Canberra Liberals are a failed organisation controlled by a hard right cabal totally out of touch with Canberra.

Dysfunctional internal party politics and blatant branch stacking is where democracy breaks down. The only way that this will change is by stripping majority control away from the major parties by electing independent candidates to the cross bench in Parliament.

Whilst you may be right about more independents, it’s actually logical for the ACT Liberals to out all their efforts in to winning the Senate seat.

In our rusted on electorate, it’s the only one they have a chance of winning.

your probably right the liberals have made no effort to win these seats and it’s too late

Capital Retro2:24 pm 30 Dec 21

Says a green leaning, failed independent Senate candidate

Vinson1Bernie10:15 pm 30 Dec 21

Yes I received my scaremongering email from the ALP so gave them a $1

Capital Retro10:47 am 31 Dec 21

How did they get your email address? They send me propaganda too but refuse to advise where they obtained my address from. I think I’ll complain to Access Canberra.

Yes Anthony Pesec Jane Hyatt is a decent person. But what is it about the Canberra Liberals and why would anyone want to be associated with them while Zed calls the shots? They have now lost 6 elections in a row and are a laughing stock with their Federal and state counterparts. Have a look at the current crop, there is no one in the party worth their salt to advance and become leader! Since the last ACT election and with the departure of Alistair Coe they have had an epiphany under leader Elizabeth Lee and bellicose deputy Jeremy Hanson, trying to present themselves as new and renewed centrists, climate change warriors while still glued to Zed Seselja! I thought they would at least move a little away from hard right Zed on these issues but they keep on loving him, hanging around at shopping centres with his Young Liberal cronies, updating their FB pages with Zed propaganda and posting silly announcements imploring us to vote for him! Can anyone else see the irony, this is the same man who wanted to become ACT Chief Minister who doesn’t believe in Territory rights! He has even voted to deny Canberrans the right to debate Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation despite other jurisdictions allowed this right. Come on Canberrans, vote this unrepresentative swill out!!

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