Mystery candidate to be named for Forrest Teal bid in November

The independent political group sizing up a challenge for the Liberal-held Federal stronghold of Forrest say they are on the cusp of finally naming a candidate.

The Voices for Forrest party, inspired and partly seed-funded by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 group, will unveil its challenger at a forum in Eaton early next month.

The group has been hunting for a candidate for months while engaging with voters on their alternative vision for the traditionally safe Liberal electorate which will be vacated by veteran MHR Nola Marino at the next turn, with Liberal counterpart Ben Small the expected favourite to replace her.

Voices spokeswoman Gita Sonnenberg said the recruitment process was lengthy because it was not easy for potential candidates to make a major commitment or “disentangle” themselves from career and personal commitments.

“As important as a candidate is, I personally think it’s equally important how people in this electorate feel about representation,” she said.

“As in many other parts of Australia, people in Forrest notice that they’re being taken for granted and that our Federal representative seems to focus on anything but help solve local issues.”

Voices had run a “listening process” during the past 12 months, reaching out to everyone in the Forrest electorate, Ms Sonnenberg said.

“It’s been great to hear what people have to say, often with a lot of wisdom and certainly with a lot of realism,” she told the Times.

“This is not to pat ourselves on the back. I really feel politicians are missing out by not being in touch with locals.

“Interestingly, the local councils are doing a lot more to show genuine interest.”

Mr Small said if residents really wanted change, they needed a change of government.

“If local voters want to change the Government and get Australia back on track, they need to vote Liberal,” he told the Times.

“I’m not taking a single vote for granted at the coming election — that’s why I have been campaigning full-time for more than six months already, engaging with the community at every opportunity.

“From knocking on many hundreds of doors to things like attending public rallies, I have already spoken directly with literally thousands of local voters and it has given me a really good sense of what they expect from their Federal parliamentarian.”

Issues like the Geographe Bay offshore wind farm were key instances of local voters getting ignored, while the cost of living and housing crises needed urgent action.

The Voices candidate launch will be held at Eaton’s Sanctuary Golf Club on Sunday, November 10, at 11am.