Essential Workers.
Essential Choice.
Your vote impacts essential workers.
Make it count for them this election.
The Pledge
1. Support policies that will help essential workers
2. Support expanding the Health & Community service sector workforce
3. Support the creation of secure, affordable housing
4. Maintain a strong ACTPS workforce, insourcing of Government work
Our Endorsed Candidates
Ginninderra
Tim Bavinton
Tim’s a working dad to two teenagers, a lifelong Canberran and has been a leading community sector figure for the better part of two decades.
He’s dedicated his professional life to bettering the health and wellbeing of Canberra’s most vulnerable and essential workers.
Tim’s career calling has been community work. He’s set up youth health education services, established a men’s sexual assault service and been the chief educator, trainer and executive behind Canberra’s chief sexual and reproductive health organisation – Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT.
Tim has taken the pledge to support Canberra’s essential workers. With a proven track record of lifelong community service, he’s demonstrated that if elected he’ll stand up for the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of essential workers and their families.
Yvette Berry
Yvette has been a proud West Belconnen local for all her life and has dedicated her professional career to representing the interests of working people and their families in her community.
She knows it’s absolutely necessary that essential workers have access to quality education, housing, healthcare, early childhood education and adequate working conditions and pay that enables everyone to take part in the life of their community.
Yvette understands the important role essential workers play in our city and has fought tirelessly since entering the ACT Legislative Assembly to support essential workers in sectors across Canberra, from health, aged care, education and will continue to do so if re-elected this October.
Tara Cheyne
Tara is someone who cares deeply about her local community and the people she represents. For over a decade she’s been a tireless champion of the working people of Belconnen, from her time as Chair of the Belconnen Community Council to becoming the Member for Ginninderra in the ACT Legislative Assembly.
She has championed policies that have had a significant positive impact on Canberra’s essential workers. From increasing access to voluntary assisted dying, to ensuring people from all backgrounds are welcomed and have the same opportunities to be involved in the life of our city, as well as the creation of mechanism to report breaches of human rights in the ACT.
It’s policies like these that have such a profound effect on the lives of working people and Tara will continue to support essential workers and their families if re-elected this October.
Tim Liersch
Tim is passionate about worker’s rights. He understands that government decision making can have a lasting impact on the lives of Canberra’s essential workers and has taken the pledge to always support pro-worker policy and decisions if elected to parliament in October.
Kurrajong
Rachel Stephen-Smith
Rachel has spent her career embodying union values and fighting for real progressive change that has positively impacted the lives of Canberra’s working people.
She has demonstrated a commitment to improving the pay, conditions and lives of essential workers in the ACT.
As Minister for Health during the Covid-19 pandemic, she oversaw the largest coordinated public health response in the Territory’s history, and kept the health and wellbeing of Canberra’s essential workers front and centre of that response. Rachel has continued to fight for essential workers working in the healthcare sector.
Rachel recognises that essential workers are Canberra’s greatest asset and has committed to supporting more and better paid essential workers with the necessary infrastructure to do their jobs effectively in a city that will continue to grow and expand.
Aggi Court
Aggi has spent her professional life fighting for the rights of Canberra’s workers.
That’s why Aggi is running for the ACT Legislative Assembly. She wants to see affordable and adequate housing available to everyone in our community, she wants to ensure that Canberra’s health and community services are properly staffed.
Aggi has taken the pledge to do this and more for workers if elected to parliament in October.
Andrew BARR
For the past 9 years Andrew Barr has lead a government that has increasingly invested in the critical healthcare, education and community services that Canberra’s essential workers utilise and interact with every day.
While Chief Minister, Andrew’s government has overseen one of the largest investments in health infrastructure at The Canberra Hospital and has promised to continue investing in the essential workers that provide the amazing healthcare that Canberrans receive everyday.
Andrew has taken a focus on essential workers to the election and that’s why UnionsACT is endorsing him as a candidate for Kurrajong.
James Cruz
James knows that some of most pressing issues facing Canberra’s essential workers can be fixed through government.
As someone who grew up in public housing, he realises just how important it is to have adequate and affordable housing a priority for the working families of Canberra.
That’s why James has decided to run on a platform of prioritising essential workers in government. From increasing the support for health and community sector workers, making housing affordable and a
Isabella Mudford
Isabella has lived her entire life living in the Inner North and has spent her professional career as an advocate for some of the most vulnerable people in Canberra.
She’s served on the ACT LGBTIQ+ Ministerial Advisory Council and was the head of the ACT Australian Youth Climate Coalition. She recognises that issues like queerphobia and climate change can have a dire effect on the mental health of everyone but especially essential workers who already face challenging workplace challenges and environments.
That’s why Isabella is a dedicated member of her union and knows the value it can bring essential workers.
Yerrabi
Michael Pettersson
Michael has been an outspoken supporter of essential workers and working people since being elected in 2016 and has spent his professional career fighting for the rights and conditions of Canberra’s construction workers before his election to the ACT Legislative Assembly.
He knows it’s essential workers that are the backbone of any city and has used his time in parliament advocating for changes that make their lives easier.
From changing the ACT Government’s approach to drug use to one centered on health and rehabilitation instead of handcuffs, to ensuring property developers are held accountable for defects in residential developments they take.
Suzanne Orr
Suzanne has grown up in Canberra seeing the important role essential workers play in everyone’s lives. She has dedicated her time as Member for Yerrabi in the ACT Legislative Assembly to improving the working and personal lives of essential workers.
From fighting for better pay and conditions for health and aged care workers, teachers, early childhood educators and emergency service workers. To championing initiatives like free period products in public buildings, libraries and public schools, to pushing fundamental changes to disability inclusion legislation that would ensure every Canberran has equal opportunities to participate in work, community and the cultural life of the city.
Suzanne recognises changes like these have an enormous impact on working people, and will continue to advocate for essential workers if re-elected on October 19th.
Pradeep Sornaraj
Pradeep knows from experience the difference good government policy and decision making can have on essential workers in his local community.
He’s committed to making a practical difference in the lives of some of our community’s hardest workers. Pradeep has championed a petition to upgrade his local park, he’s organised the Ngunnawal Community Day and he’s advocated for free period products to be made available by the ACT Government. It’s changes and advocacy like this that makes small but impactful changes in the lives of Canberra’s working families.
Pradeep will take the same motivation to make the lives of essential workers easier into the ACT Legislative Assembly if elected this October.
Murrumbidgee
Anna Whitty
Anna knows the untenable conditions some of Canberra’s essential worker face, having been one herself for many years. Anna is a qualified early childhood educator and has worked alongside children and workers for many years.
Far too often she’s seen the burnout of workers who face the reality of their pay and conditions in the industry. She knows the importance early childhood educators make in a child’s early development and believes in the government’s ability to support a professional workforce with adequate pay and conditions.
That’s why Anna went into the community services where she spent years as the CEO of one of Canberra’s biggest community organisations – Northside Community Services. She understands that without essential workers, none of these services would be possible.
Chris Steel
Growing up in Canberra, Chris saw that every area of government policy and decision making can have an impact on the lives of essential workers.
It’s what motivated him to enter the early childhood education sector as an advocate at Early Childhood Australia. It’s what continues to motivate him today as a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and in the decisions he makes every day.
As planning minister Chris has championed changes to the ACT’s planning system that will make housing more affordable and accessible to essential workers and their families. He’s signed the pledge to continue supporting pro-worker policies in the next term of government if re-elected.
Nelson Tang
Nelson grew up in a family that had just moved to a brand-new city looking for new opportunities and work as so many essential workers do in moving to the ACT to pursue the great work life balance Caberra offers. Nelson acknowledges that without Canberra’s essential workers, his life would be radically different.
It was the fantastic public-school teachers that gave him a quality education and supported his studies, and the dedicated nurses and doctors of Canberra’s hospitals that were always there when an emergency arose.
That’s why Nelson understands that it’s important that Canberra’s essential workers are supported by government. He’s pledged to advocate for the changes needed to make the working and personal lives of essential workers easier if elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in October.
Brindabella
Louise Crossman
Louise is a local Tuggeranong mum with two kids under 4. She knows better than most the practical difference essential workers can make in the lives of parents. Check-ups, consultations, hospital visits, and childcare are made so much harder when essential workers aren’t supported by appropriate wages and conditions.
Louise is running for parliament to act as a voice for Canberra’s essential workers and will always have their backs. Whether it be for supporting the introduction of more health and community service workers to advocating for secure and affordable housing or the improvement of pay and conditions.
She understands that the services many Canberrans rely on cannot be operated without the hard-working essential workers staffing them, and without the support of government these services falter.
Brendan Forde
Brendan is a proud Tuggeranong local who’s excited to make his community one of the best places to live in Canberra for essential workers and their families to live.
That means increasing the amount of secure and affordable housing, it means increasing the number of community and healthcare workers living in our community.
Brendan will always advocate for his community to get its fair share for the benefit of the working people and their families.
Mick Gentleman
Mick is a born and raised Canberran who’s has always had strong ties to his local community. He’s worked around community sector organisations his entire career.
He’s previously been the President of the Tuggeranong Arts Centre and a member of the board of the Canberra Men’s Centre. He’s been involved in the White Ribbon Foundation for many years and works hard to bring awareness and action to stop violence against women.
Mich has brought his wealth of experience with the community sector into parliament with him and has always been an advocate for increased pay and conditions for essential workers that provide the important services the community uses. He’s pledged to continue to do so if re-elected to parliament this October.
Laura Nuttall
Laura made history last year as the first Gen Z member of an Australian parliament when she was elected on countback.
Laura is passionate about issues that affect young people like herself and takes this focus to essential workers in a way that very few elected politicians do.
An increasing number of young people are entering the workforce for the first time as essential workers. Whether they’re starting as a graduate nurse, teacher, early childhood educator or community service worker among others, there are issues that disproportionately affect them and their working life.
From decreasing pay and conditions, a cost-of-living crisis and increasingly unaffordable housing, these are issues that affect the mental health, livelihood and personal lives of Canberra’s youngest essential workers.
Laura has pledged to bring the focus to these workers and all essential workers if re-elected to government.
Sam Nugent
An experienced psychologist and rehabilitation clinician before starting work in politics, Sam has worked as, and worked with, essential worker all throughout her career.
She knows the demands of essential workers better than most. She’s driven by caring for people and finding solutions for their needs, this of course means she’s a committed unionist and has always fought for the wages and conditions of her fellow workers.
Sam is running for the ACT Legislative to bring new perspectives on some of the most important issues facing essential workers. As someone who fled domestic violence and experienced homelessness she knows this is an issue that so many face with few avenues to turn to for aid.
Authorised by Kasey Tomkins, Secretary for UnionsACT