Ellen Sandell to recontest seat in November election

Greens MP for Melbourne Ellen Sandell officially announced on Wednesday, June 1 that she will recontest the seat which she has held since 2014.

While Labor won enough seats in the recent federal election to form a slender majority government, Ms Sandell said the election of four Greens and many Teal Independents demonstrated the appetite for political change in the community.

“The federal election made it clear: to get strong action on climate change, we need more Greens MPs and climate champions in our Parliament to push Labor and the Liberals further and faster,” Ms Sandell said.

“We did it at the federal election – now we need to do it at the Victorian election too.”

“I’m excited to run for the seat of Melbourne again, and continue serving my local community while pushing the next government to go further and faster on climate change, affordable housing, integrity in Parliament and better women’s representation.”

Her achievements over the past eight years include campaigning successfully to get the ALP to reverse its position and stop the “polluting” East West toll road; campaigning with regional communities across the state for an Australia-first ban on fracking; and helping stop a gas import terminal at Westernport Bay.

She also took a hands-on approach in helping residents access food, medicine and vital information when nine public housing towers were suddenly forced into a hard lockdown by the Victorian Labor Government in 2020.

“In Melbourne, we’re seeing housing become totally unaffordable, while the Labor Government has stopped building public housing,” she said. •