The Sydney Morning Herald: 20 November 2022
Environment minister James Griffin is the first target of the Climate 200 group for the March state election, after teal candidates swept to victory throughout the country in this year’s federal poll.
Simon Holmes à Court’s crowdfunding group has backed independent challenger Joeline Hackman for the state seat of Manly, hoping the environmental concerns which spurred local federal teal victories for Zali Steggall in Warringah and Sophie Scamps in Mackellar will carry through to the polls next year.
“We have a representative here who is padlocked to Perrottet and the Nationals,” said Hackman, a lifelong beaches local and freelance business consultant who founded the 2000-strong Northern Beaches War on Waste community group, inspired by the ABC TV show.
Rebecca Clarke, spokesperson for Independent Pittwater, said it was “likely” it would put up a candidate, but their identity was not finalised.
Clarke, who was a volunteer campaign manager for Sophie Scamps in the Federal seat of Mackellar, said the events of the past week were “just another example of the control the National Party has over the Liberal Party”. “It’s reflecting the same problem we had at the federal election,” she said. “The community of Mackellar wasn’t happy with those arrangements in the federal sphere, and I very much doubt the community of Pittwater is happy with them at a state level.”