As the 28-year-old Greens candidate for the new seat of Bonner in the upcoming federal election, Wednesday’s article in The Courier-Mail ‘Women stage takeover of local government’ was an inspiring read.

As a young, educated, professional female I can offer residents of Bonner not only enthusiasm, but very real community representation – something that I believe the two major parties have been unable to deliver to Brisbane’s east.

Labor councillor Shane Sutton said for aspiring female politicians “to take the bull by the horns and show them you can do it”. OK then!

As a new seat, Bonner residents have the opportunity to demand its elected federal representative truly represents their interests.

What attracted me to The Greens was the encouragement the party offers when it comes to actually listening and acting upon issues that are raised by residents. If I were to win, that would be my primary role.

It takes guts to be a Green and, yes, it takes guts for young women to enter politics. However, perhaps it also takes guts for electors to look at voting outside the two major parties and giving a ‘fresh face’ a go.