The Greens candidate for the seat of Hume will create a little history when the election is held, almost certainly on July 2.
Michaela Sherwood will become the first ever transgender person to run for federal parliament.
Ms Sherwood says she joined the Greens in 2009 because she believes they are the only principled party that takes combating social injustice seriously.
“Being a transgender woman, I relate to and empathise with all people of diversity who experience prejudice,’’ Ms Sherwood said.
Now retired, Ms Sherwood was an IT practitioner for 45 years, including running her own consulting business for 18 years specialising in procurement and contract management.
She still does occasional consulting work.
During her career, Ms Sherwood was a UNESCO and FAO adviser on information storage and retrieval to various national and international bodies.
She also spent several years in East and Southeast Asia on Australian and international aid projects.
“I plan to bring climate change action, regional job development and social equality into the debate and raise the Greens profile in Hume to make sure that we reelect Senator Lee Rhiannon,’’ Ms Sherwood said.
In addition, Ms Sherwood says she will campaign strongly using the Greens’ established policies on:
Housing affordability, cost of living, and education opportunities, especially in the northern part of the electorate;
The impact, now, of climate change on agribusinesses in the Hume electorate and the need for a properly funded CSIRO to develop appropriate solutions;
The current government’s efforts to curtail spending on health care and aged-pensions, which will have a serious impact on the elderly.
Ms Sherwood said she and The Greens federal campaign team will announce specific policies and initiatives relating to the Hume electorate over the coming weeks leading to the election.
