A casual vacancy has arisen for the Greens in the NSW upper house, and Sue Higginson is hoping to take the place of the vacating David Shoebridge.
Shoebridge is the Greens’ lead Senate candidate in the upcoming Federal election – as soon as the election is announced, he says he will resign his seat in the NSW Legislative Council.
The pre-selection process for the vacancy is a grassroots process, say the Greens, in which party members decide who will be their next Greens MP.
Ms Higginson is an environmental lawyer, activist, and a tireless advocate for justice. For many years, she was the CEO and principal solicitor of the Environmental Defender’s Office (EDO), running the highest-profile environmental litigation in the country.
‘I’ve taken coal and mining giants to court – like Rio Tinto and Santos, Whitehaven, Adani – and I’ve won. I’ve taken governments to court for wrong decisions, and I’ve advised many MPs in NSW Parliament’, Ms Higginson says.
Planning experience
‘As a public interest planning lawyer, I have an intimate understanding of the planning system. Planning law impacts our lives in every way. It determines what can and can’t happen in your local environment. Our planning laws need a significant shake up to address climate change, and put the protection of the environment and the health of our communities first’.
‘I know what that planning law system looks like and I would love to be in a position to advocate for it.’
For over a decade, Ms Higginson says ‘the Liberals have run a destructive economic agenda, serving the elite, and leaving so many behind, while the Nationals have plundered, and continue to plunder, our environment – like there’s no tomorrow’.
‘I’ve seen firsthand how they set the rules to serve their corporate masters and their mining mates, their time’s coming to an end.’
Ms Higginson ran for the NSW seat of Lismore in 2019, almost winning the seat and kicking the Nats out after a 54-year reign.
‘I will pick up where David left off. I’m an experienced lawyer with forensic skill and an insatiable appetite for justice. I have expertise across all of David’s portfolios.’
The ballot opens on February 9.
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