Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In coming weeks, Australians will have a choice—a choice between the distracted Albanese Labor government, whose reckless spending has left Australians stuck in a cost-of-living crisis, and a Peter Dutton led coalition government that will get Australia back on track. In Tasmania, in the seat of Lyons, the choice is even more stark. Late last year, Labor member for Lyons Brian Mitchell was sensationally dumped by his party in a captain's call by Prime Minister Albanese, with Labor announcing former Tasmanian Labor leader and current state MP Rebecca White as their candidate. But the truth is that Tasmanians have had their say on Ms White and her policies three times, and she's been emphatically rejected each time.

In contrast, the Lyons Liberal candidate, Susie Bower, is a leader in her region and has extensive experience in business and community development. While Ms White is a career politician with limited employment experience, Susie Bower has held high-level positions in local government, in community development, as a local councillor, in small business and, most recently, in her current role as the chief executive of the Bell Bay Advanced Manufacturing Zone. In clear testament to her character, Susie was the first coalition candidate to be preselected for the 2025 federal election nationally, and, for the nearly two years since her preselection, she's been travelling throughout the Lyons community listening to local concerns.

But this has never been a fair race. Rebecca White has been using her electorate allowances and taxpayer funded vehicle, which are provided with the position that she obviously does not wish to remain in, while campaigning for the federal seat. I can't see that this passes the pub test, especially for Ms White, the Tasmanian Labor Party shadow minister for integrity. Meanwhile, Susie Bower has juggled the demands of her full-time job with those of her election campaign since she was preselected. Tasmanians deserve hardworking representatives to fight for them in Canberra, and in Lyons Susie Bower is clearly the best choice.