The ACT Liberal Party is seeking some quality women candidates for the next Legislative Assembly election in February.
The ACT president of the party, Gwen Wilcox, said yesterday that seven candidates would be chosen for Molonglo and five for Brindabella. Five had already been chosen for Ginninderra.
The party’s leader, Kate Carnell, the only woman of the six Liberal MLAs, said the party was looking for good women candidates.
The Liberal Party does not have an affirmative-action policy like Labor which re-orders candidates if necessary to give women winnable positions.
Mrs Wilcox said the party would not rank the seven and five candidates in each seat because it would be contrary to the spirit of the 1992 referendum which adopted the Hare-Clark system.
Pre-selection will take place on June 25 by members of the party living in the electorate.
Ms Carnell and MLAs Gary Humphries and Greg Cornwell are certainties for Molonglo. MLA Tony de Domenico is a certainty for Brindabella. Former Chief Minister Trevor Kaine is very likely to stand for Brindabella but has changed his mind on retiring on several occasions. MLA Lou Westende is likely to stand down to pursue his business interests. The field is fairly open for the other spots.
In February, the Liberal Party announced its pre-selection for Ginninderra: former MLA lawyer and law-and-order advocate “”Big Bill” Stefianiak; public servant and Hare-Clark campaigner Lyle Dunne, 1993 Federal Liberal candidate and Carnell researcher Martin Gordon; pre-school teacher and former Sutherland Shire Councillor Cheryl Hill; former parliamentary security guard Constance Steven; public servant Dudley Horsecroft; and former House of Assembly Speaker and small businessman Harold Hird.
Labor will conduct pre-selection at the end of this month using its collegiate system and gender-equity policies which will favour the left.
Sitting members Rosemary Follett, David Lamont and Terry Connolly will take the winning positions in the seven-seat Molonglo. Wayne Berry, Roberta McRae and Ellnor Grassby will stand in the five-seat Ginninderra where two Labor seats are certainties and a third possible to probable. Annette Ellis and Bill Wood will stand in Brindabella. Labor intends to rank candidates and have a how-to-vote card, even though the order of candidates on the ballot paper will be randomised so it is different on different people’s ballot paper under Hare-Clark.
Labor also intends to have a ten-seven system where it will give the bulk of funds and support to the top 10 pre-selected candidates. Mr Wood, who is non-aligned, may not get into the top 10 even though he is a Minister. He may not get the No 2 or No 3 ranking in Brindabella.
However, as a Minister with ministerial staff and greater access to the media he might be able to use the Hare-Clark system to overcome that handicap and get elected ahead of the official list.
Labor is also coning to terms with another aspect of Hare-Clark. If an MLA retires or dies mid-term, there is no by-election. The spot is filled on a count-back of candidates’ votes at the original election. There is no guarantee under that system that the next Labor candidate was of the same Labor faction as the retiree. It would require the candidate to be persuaded to renounce re-election to the next Labor candidate of the correct faction if factional balance were to be retained.