Elizabeth Farrelly has been a fiercely independent thought leader for over thirty years, working as a columnist, designer, academic, author and former City of Sydney councillor. She now has her sights on one of the hotly contested seats in the Legislative Council (the Upper House) within the New South Wales Parliament. If wisdom and smarts were prerequisites to gain a seat at the political table, Elizabeth would be a shoo-in to win a seat in the upcoming election. Elizabeth’s answers to the questions below demonstrate she is just the kind of visionary politician our state needs to help tackle the challenging issues we as a society face on a daily basis.
Q. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing NSW today?
A. The biggest challenge facing the species is working out how to feed ourselves (and maintain civilisation) without destroying the ecosystems on which those things depend. And the biggest challenge for NSW specifically is how to create a government in which we can genuinely believe (honest, bold and purposeful in the public interest).
Q. If elected to the NSW Legislative Council (Upper House), what are your top priorities while in office?
A. Our top priorities are to:
- put climate action front and centre of every government decision;
- hold an enquiry into the development industry;
- rewrite the Planning Act to put true public interest at its heart (preserving habitat, biodiversity, forest, farmland, soil, water and air while creating liveable, loveable, walkable communities rather than just developer profit);
- install a system of fair, CPI-related rent controls
- establish a clean, solar-powered statewide rail network;
- engage the public at the very front end of every planning process (perhaps via Citizen Juries) and saving koalas.
Q. Do you have a personal connection to the issues you advocate for?
A. Throughout my long career as an architect, writer and advocate I have always fought for better, more beautiful cities, a fairer society, public education, gender equity and environmental accountability. We must end our fossil-fuel addiction, stop turning forest and farmland into sprawl, make our cities so loveable and walkable we want to stay in them and do it in a way that offers opportunity for every human talent to be engaged in that exhilarating and creative process. All this is (much as the phrase might sound pompous) my life’s work.
Q. Who is your political role model and why?
A. As an Independent City of Sydney Councillor in the 1990s, I love Sydney’s long tradition of Independents, and believe the “teal revolution” as it is now known, to be the beacon of hope for our country and our state. But above all, I revere Ted Mack. I was honoured to give the inaugural Ted Mack oration in North Sydney in 2017, when Ted surprised and delighted everyone by still being here to hear it. Mack was unstintingly fair, kind, honourable and intelligent; rare qualities in NSW politics and ones which now, more than ever, we urgently need.
Q. How will you ensure that all voices within our community are heard and fairly represented?
A. Establish a system of citizen juries to elicit the wisdom of the people and establish the principles that guide all government decisions. Install an open door policy that treats Big Money and community members equally. Travel the state holding community forums like the ones we have held in the past few weeks in Bungendore, Byron, Armidale, Braidwood and Quirindi.
Q. Is there anything else you’d like to tell voters?
A. The current government, and the major parties that form it, is arrogant and hypocritical. They talk of emission reduction, habitat preservation, urban shade canopy and “respect for country” yet they go on ruthlessly increasing land-clearing, mining, pollution, tollway-building and sprawl. Neither party has the backbone for real change; mainly because they are beholden to their donors, their whip system, their factions before they listen to the community.
This must change, which is why a broad crossbench is critical. The upper house, which has always been presumed as rusted-on, is critical here. Only the upper house, being state-wide, is framed for the big conversations – how CSG mining in the Liverpool Plains can quadruple the price of a lettuce in Newtown, how ending land-clearing relates to controlling house prices. These are the conversations we need. To make it possible, vote 1 in the upper house for ELIZABETH FARRELLY INDEPENDENTS. Our box on the ballot paper is box H. Vote H for HOPE.
For more information visit: www.elizabethfarrelly.com.au
Elizabeth Farrelly was interviewed by Elise Hawthorne for Only the Good News
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