If he gets elected on March 25, Angus Braiden will become the youngest ever member of parliament, state or federal.
That’s a big “if’’ of course for Angus, who is just 18 years of age and has been endorsed as the Labor candidate for Wollondilly at the 2023 NSW State election.
The teenager won a pre-selection ballot for the Wollondilly State Electoral District of the Labor Party, according to a media release, which does not state how many candidates had thrown their hats in the ring.
Angus is a lifelong resident of Wollondilly, and is currently living in Hill Top.
He is employed in the hospitality and retail industry, working with a team from all walks of life.
Angus says that as a resident, a renter, and a member of the local community, he is acutely aware of the issues throughout Wollondilly.
He says these include the “failed state of our roads, the crisis within our education and health systems, cost of living pressures, and insufficient public transport’’.
“I have lived in Wollondilly my entire life. I am a product of our community, and have been deeply instilled with our values: integrity, respect, and helping your fellow human being,” says the aspiring politician.
“Over time, I have seen the degradation of our community. From the under-funding and under-resourcing of our schools and hospitals, to the very roads that fall apart beneath our feet, our community is facing a crisis.
“We need a strong, local voice in this parliament that will represent us. I will be that voice,” says Angus.
The seat of Wollondilly has been in Liberal Party hands since 2011 when Jail Rowell defeated two term Labor MP Phil Costa.
Rowell served two terms before he was dumped and Nathaniel Smith was parachuted in for the 2019 election, which he won in a canter.
Smith is running again and will be almost impossible to beat after a reasonable performance over the past four years.
Also running again is independent Judy Hannan.
Like most young people Angus Braiden seems quietly confident of his chances.
“I am incredibly honoured to have been selected by the Wollondilly Labor caucus as their candidate,’’ he says.
“We have a team behind us from all walks of life, culminating in an innumerable level of experience in every field imaginable.
“I look forward to engaging with the community about the issues most affecting all of us: roads, transport, our public services and unsustainable development.
“We will engage constructively and cooperatively with other candidates to ensure that Wollondilly has the best policy and outcomes from this election, and to ensure that our community and our issues are best represented in the next parliament.”
