There’s only one historic political win that must come close for Nicolette Boele to describe her win on Wednesday for the federal seat of Bradfield after a recount – it was Paul Keating’s win as PM on 13 March 1993 when he said this was the “sweetest victory”.
In the end, she beat Liberal Gisele Kapterian by just 26 votes in another historic tick – it’s one of the tightest elections in history.
We don’t know of anyone who fought harder and longer than Boele for her win. That she’s firmly from the sustainability end of town makes it sweet for our patch, too.
We congratulate her and wish her the very best for her term, and hope she can achieve a big chunk of what she wished for in her incredibly extensive and well informed platform.
Some of the highlights of her policies include:
Climate: Boele helped set up the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, worked with the Smart Energy Council, and advised an Australian electric vehicle start-up. The following is just a taste of the deep scope of her advocacy.
There’s been progress, she says, but we now need to adopt a 75 per cent emission reduction target by 2035, align national policies with what the science says is needed to protect the future of our planet, and formalise sector-specific strategies. The government’s role is to provide “long, loud, and legal policy parameters around emission reduction plans”, including for key industries such as energy, transportation, and agriculture, to allow businesses to find opportunities and home-grown investors.
A moratorium on new coal projects, end native forest logging, phase out the $65 billion in taxpayer-funded fossil fuel subsidies, redirect funds to provide immediate energy bill relief for families and turbocharge the rollout of tens of thousands of battery and solar systems. Prioritise grid infrastructure.
Equity: No one should be left behind, retraining programs for fossil fuel workers to provide pathways into secure, good jobs in clean energy, construction, and manufacturing. Investment in renewable energy hubs, support local manufacturing, strengthen building codes for homes and businesses and provide financial support to retrofit buildings to protect from more frequent storms, floods, and fires.
Housing: new housing developments to add to the quality of life rather than destroying it. Protection for national parks and bushland, our creeks and rivers, and our civic green spaces. Support for housing for those most in need – frontline workers, students, single-parent families, and ageing women
Energy: A National Home Battery Program to cut household bills by $1100–$1500 a year through smarter energy use, reduce payback periods for batteries, making them more affordable for more homes, flatten the load curve, lowering wholesale electricity prices for all consumers. All new-build homes to be fully electric, support for efficient appliances, work with state governments to allow vehicle-to-grid, energy labelling for both rental and for-sale properties, accelerate the Home Energy Upgrades program and other relevant government initiatives to prioritise social, community, and rental housing where the need is greatest.
See more on Boele’s platform here
Boele joins fellow NSW teals Allegra Spender (Wentworth), Sophie Scamps (Mackellar) and Zali Steggall (Warringah) on the crossbench.