The WA Greens have selected a former member of Extinction Rebellion as their top candidate for their first regional seat in WA, with Margaret River set to play a key role.
The party has identified Warren-Blackwood as its main target for the seat in the House of Commons ahead of next year’s state elections, while also anticipating good chances in the Liberal stronghold of Forrest at the federal level.
The news leaked to The Times ahead of the planned official campaign launch next month and coincided with a weekend meet-and-greet in Margaret River on Sunday June 30.
Denmark-based Julie Marsh was the candidate for Warren-Blackwood, who the Greens hope will unseat one-term Labor candidate Jane Kelsbie. Kelsbie herself won the seat in Mark McGowan’s landslide victory at the 2021 election, having ousted 11-year Nationals WA veteran and former party leader Terry Redman.
Georgia Beardman, a native of Dunsborough, has been identified as the candidate for Forrest.
However, it was Ms Marsh who attracted the most interest after she made headlines in November 2021 for gluing her feet to a wall outside the office of Albany-based O’Connor MHR Rick Wilson.
The action, carried out as a member of climate activist group Extinction Rebellion, coincided with the start of the UN climate change conference in Glasgow and saw Ms Marsh chalk graffiti on MPs’ offices containing messages such as “Tell the truth”, “You failed us at COP-26”, “2050 too late: act now” and “Climate criminals”.
Police later used a solvent to free the protester, who has been a member of the Green Party since 2018.
An initial charge of criminal damage was downgraded, after which Ms Marsh pleaded guilty to the lesser offence and was sentenced to 80 hours of community service.
Green Party sources assured The Times that Ms Marsh was no longer associated with Extinction Rebellion and that the group had no links to the Green Party.
In a statement to the Times, Marsh said she was drawn to activism to raise awareness of the “deepening climate crisis” and took her actions in Albany after repeated attempts to reach the politician were unsuccessful.
“I’m not afraid to put myself in uncomfortable situations to make my voice heard,” she said.
“I want to be a voice for those who, like me, are fed up with the lazy arrogance of those who maintain the status quo,” Ms Marsh said.
“I want to show people that they can make a difference.
“I want to reassure people that their anger and disappointment at politicians who insist on doing nothing for them is justified and that there are people who are fighting for them.”
The mother of two children cited the cost of living and the housing crisis as well as the impact of climate change on farmers as key problems.
A redrawing of constituency boundaries, now to include the entire Augusta-Margaret River County, was a key driver for the Greens. Local polling in 2021 produced a strong result in favour of the Greens, effectively helping to secure Ms Kelsbie’s post-preference victory.
However, it remained to be seen how the nomination of the former activist as a candidate would be received by the wealthy green intelligentsia of Margaret River.