Independent is Bradfield’s first female MP
After waiting exactly one month to find out if she was elected, Nicolette Boele is breathing a sigh of relief. In what was one of the closest Federal election results in history, Ms Boele won the seat of Bradfield by a mere 26 votes, only confirmed after a painstaking recount.
The new Federal MP has made history, taking a seat which has been blue-ribbon Liberal since inception, 75 years ago.
Ms Boele has already moved into the old Lindfield office of previous Bradfield MP, Paul Fletcher, and on 22 July will start ‘new politician’ school in Canberra, she told NL, learning the ins and outs of the House of Representatives after two attempts to get in the door.
But she already has her policy priorities lined up for day one: affordable child care, using renewable energy to bring down power bills, and setting Australia’s emission reduction target.
“The government has promised to deliver some childcare relief. I want them to deliver for the people of Bradfield and for families right across Australia as soon as practically possible.”
Ms Boele will join a cross bench of 13, down from the record breaking number in the last Parliament.
“I am really looking forward to being an effective opposition from the cross bench,” Ms Boele said. “I really want to make sure that I get Bradfield’s voice heard in the parliament and hold the government to account for the decisions it’s made and ask them to explain to the Australian public why it makes a decision.”
Being elected was ‘such a privilege… that I do not take lightly,” Ms Boele stated. “It was a really tight result. And I think that fortunately as an independent, I do work from the centre out. So I can represent a broader group of people than perhaps someone in a party who’s stuck in an ideology or with a set policy agenda.”
With more than 1,450 volunteers supporting her campaign, she is keen to keep the momentum going. “It was a truly extraordinary grassroots campaign and I’m really proud of what we achieved together.”
There is still a chance the Liberals will appeal the result in the Court of Disputed returns. The party has until 22 July to lodge a petition, with only six of 50 petitions declared void since the court was established.
