THE State Labor Party has finally announced a candidate for the seat of Mount Gambier after weeks of speculation.
Isabel Scriven – daughter of Limestone Coast-based Legislative Council candidate Clare Scriven – will contest the Mount Gambier electorate.
Ms Scriven, 21, recently joined her family’s Mount Gambier painting business, having previously worked for Federal Senator Alex Gallacher and state MP Tom Kenyon.
In a statement released yesterday, she described her candidacy as a win for women and young people in regional politics.
The political hopeful said she would focus on regional development, education, women’s advancement and protection of workers.
Ms Scriven studied fashion design at TAFE before studying foundation studies at UniSA and has previously worked as a swimming instructor and in the hospitality industry.
“The fact the Labor Party has selected me as its candidate for Mount Gambier shows its commitment to women and young people’s participation in politics,” she said.
“I do not underestimate the difficulty of winning Mount Gambier, which has been held by the Liberals and other conservatives since 1975,” Ms Scriven said.
She said Mount Gambier had never had a female parliamentary representative, largely because the Liberal Party only selected “middle-aged men” in the region.
“Women only make up about 20pc of the South Australian Liberal Party’s MPs compared to about 40pc of Labor’s MPs,” she said.
“We have many women here in Mount Gambier who have been successful in business, education leadership and local government. Why do not we have a stronger showing in parliament?”
Ms Scriven argued the potential of Mount Gambier and the surrounding area was underestimated in Adelaide.
“There is a lot of opportunity to further develop tourism in the region and encourage visitors to stay longer,” she said.
“I would also like to see more marketing of the city as an attractive place for young professionals and semi-professionals.
“While I realise it will be a very difficult task to win the seat of Mount Gambier, this is an opportunity both for women and for young people to send a message that we want greater representation.”
