Help choose who we endorse for Canberra
We're looking for a small number of people from the community to join the panel that recommends our candidate for the federal seat of Canberra.
Apply here by 11:59pm Tuesday 8 September.
Over the next six months we need to find the person who can carry this community’s energy for change. The Recommendation Panel is the group that does the narrowing, and we want you to be part of it!
You don't need any particular experience. What we need is people who know this city, who can weigh up a person fairly, and who think they know what it takes to win an election in this place, at this moment in time .
We need people from right across the electorate, who reflect a range of voting ages, and who come from a variety of cultural, work and lived experience backgrounds.
What the panel does
- Agrees and publishes the criteria a candidate has to meet, drawn from what Canberrans have told us in our survey and at doorsteps, stalls and kitchen tables
- Gets out with potential candidates at stalls and on doorsteps, and sees what they’re like at engaging with Canberrans
- Shortlists candidates against those published criteria
- Hears the community's feedback, including from a public forum; and
- Recommends a single candidate from the shortlist to the Voices of Canberra Leadership Team.
The leadership team makes the final endorsement, and publishes its reasons. If it landed somewhere different to the panel, it would have to say so publicly and explain why.
What we’d need from you
Time commitment:
- Roughly 2 hours a week for reading and meetings between September 2026 and December 2026 (some weeks will not require meetings and the Panel will work flexibly)
- 3-5 hours total at stalls or doorknocking alongside potential candidates
- Attendance at the public forum in February 2027, and approx 8 hours to deliberate and write the recommendation afterwards.
Confidentiality:
- Keeping candidates' names and the panel's discussions confidential. Some people who've been nominated can't be public yet without risking their jobs.
Transparency:
- Honesty about any potential conflicts of interest
- Willingness to have your name publicly listed as a member of the panel
We'll work around your other commitments where we can. Tell us what you need.
Who can't do it
If you're thinking about putting your own name forward or you’re being considered as a possible candidate, this isn't for you. We also can't take members of a political party onto the panel.
Knowing someone who's been nominated doesn't rule you out. Canberra is small. We just need to know about it upfront so we can manage it openly.
How we choose
We're after a functional group of people who between them cover as much of the electorate as they can: different suburbs, ages, working lives, backgrounds, and different reasons for caring about this. The three management team members on the panel are Laurie Dunn, Jess LeWatt and Marianne Cullen. We need more expertise and experience from across the community.
We'll publish who was chosen, how many people applied, and the basis we chose on.
Apply by 11.59pm, Tuesday 8 September.
It takes about ten minutes. Apply here.
Questions first? Email [email protected]. We're happy to talk it through before you decide.