Hans Lovejoy
The replacement for Greens MLC Jan Barham has now been settled, after a close vote between Tweed Heads resident Dawn Walker and former staffer to the late Dr John Kaye MP, Kelly Marks, who is based in Sydney.
Ms Barham, a former Byron Shire mayor, retired from upper house state politics last year but her successor became unclear; media reports from both Fairfax and Murdoch’s Newscorp claimed internal legal challenges erupted after Ms Marks’s team claimed an unfair advantage and a breach of Green preselection rules after a social media campaign by Ms Walker’s team.
But Ms Walker played down the conflict, telling The Echo that, ‘There is no other party I’m aware of that elects its MPs through a preselection process. It’s a vigorous process.
‘Three women ran for the position and everyone displayed integrity and mutual respect – I’m very proud of this.’
Yet the vote was very close; Ms Walker confirmed it was down to 13 votes from a total of 2,158 voters across NSW.
‘It was the biggest voter turnout of any Greens preselection in NSW. I was so honoured and it reflected the Greens’ grassroots movement.’
Priorities
When asked what her priorities will be, Ms Walker replied, ‘I want to be a strong voice on climate change, keep CSG out of the region, stop new coal mines and get serious on renewable energy.’
‘Protecting our forests is a priority, as is providing top- quality health services.’
‘More generally, I hope to continue the legacy of Jan Barham, particularly on Indigenous issues.
‘A strength of hers was maintaining a closeness to the community.
‘As a region, we should be very proud of the way she has represented us – she caused real change and earned enormous respect from everyone in parliament.
‘I’ll be working to help the Greens grow and be successful and will work hard with Ballina MP Tamara Smith on all the wonderful work she is doing.’
The Echo asked about the north coast region’s high Greens voter base.
‘We actually have some of the highest-voting booths in Australia, and certainly our region is a growing Greens stronghold. The Greens were very close to securing Lismore at the last election; we will also be looking at Lismore at the next election as it’s a very close seat.’
Murdoch media
As for Murdoch’s media dominance over politics, The Echo asked Ms Walker if she had a strategy when faced with the inevitable hostility from his minions.
‘Not as such… I agree that both sides of parliament take their cues from The Daily Telegraph… I have very close ties to this community and I’m motivated to provide them a strong voice so they aren’t left behind,’ she said.
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