Suzanna Sheed has confirmed she will again run to retain the seat of Shepparton in November’s Victorian election, and said May’s federal count showed the appetite for independent candidates across the country.
Ms Sheed watched on as Rob Priestly fell at the last hurdle in a bit to unseat the Nationals, who retained outgoing Member for Nicholls Damian Drum’s seat through Sam Birrell, who was sworn into Parliament this week.
However, Ms Sheed said it was “disappointing” to have Mr Birrell as part of the opposition and, with all signs pointing to Labor retaining government in Victoria in November, she said Shepparton couldn’t risk having two members in opposition.
“The advantage of an independent is doors are open to independents, but they’re often not open to members of the opposition,” she said.
“It would have been incredible to have Shepparton represented by independents at both levels.
“If Shepparton is left with a Nationals or Liberal member and they’re in opposition it’ll be like the quiet old days where not much happens.”
Ms Sheed said she was gearing up for her toughest election challenge yet, with former City of Greater Shepparton mayor Kim O’Keeffe standing for the Nationals and Liberal candidate Cheryl Hammer running again following a strong showing in 2018.
“It’s fair to say I’ve achieved everything I set out to do when I was elected in 2014 except for the bypass,” Ms Sheed said.
“But there’s always more to do, it doesn’t stop. We’ve still got weeks left to sit, but we know there are big issues in areas like health, which we need to address.
“It’ll be the toughest campaign of all, with a former mayor who’s got a strong profile and a high-profile candidate who’s stood before and done well before.”