Voices of Canberra names panel to help select community-backed independent candidate
Nine Canberrans will develop selection criteria and help assess applicants
Voices of Canberra has appointed a nine-member Recommendation Panel to help choose its endorsed independent candidate for the federal seat of Canberra at the next federal election, expected in 2028.
The panel was selected after a call for community members to take part. The Recommendation Panel members are:
- Aarthi Ayyar-Biddle, Ainslie
- Caroline Shackley, Bruce
- Elizabeth Cusack, Turner
- John Padraig Carroll, Hawker
- Laurie Dunn, Ainslie
- Lily Harrison, Curtin
- Marianne Cullen, Ainslie
- Max Scheipsi, Braddon
- Travis Ey, Coombs
The panel’s first job will be to develop the selection criteria and assessment process for candidates. Voices of Canberra will then publish the criteria, along with a Candidate Pack for all interested candidates to respond to.
“We are here to give a voice to every Canberran who is tired of being taken for granted in federal politics,” Voices of Canberra spokesperson Jess LeWatt said. “We’re not a party, so there’s no membership fee, no faction to keep happy, no vested interests to serve and no branch to stack”.
The panel’s work will be informed by what residents told the group through its community surveys and in conversations at street stalls. Canberrans said they want a candidate who is
- honest and has integrity,
- present and listens to the community,
- informed and practical,
- not a party politician.
Once applications close, the panel will assess them against the criteria, interview applicants and carry out due diligence. It will then recommend a shortlist to Voices of Canberra.
“The major parties choose candidates in rooms most Canberrans will never see the inside of,” LeWatt said. “We’d rather run the process in the open and be judged on it. People at our listening events have told us they want someone who will be honest and open, and that starts with how the candidate is selected.”
Shortlisted applicants will meet residents at community events and participate in a public forum in March 2027. The panel will weigh community feedback alongside the criteria before making its final recommendation to Voices of Canberra. The endorsed candidate is expected to be announced soon after.