THE seat of Fraser (recently renamed Fenner) has been held by Labor forever. I say that in the literal sense, no other party has ever won it. Yet this year I will run as the Greens candidate for Fenner in the Federal election.

This announcement was met with many kind words from family, friends and acquaintances, but after the initial support inevitably passed they began to enquire as to why I would want to enter politics, why I chose to represent the Greens and why I would contest an “unwinnable” seat.

My candidacy is not the culmination of a lifelong career aspiration, but rather a natural progression.

At law school I developed an interest in government policy and, as associate to former Chief Justice Higgins, I knew I wanted to be an advocate and represent those without a voice. I was admitted as a lawyer and did just that.

Earlier this year, a young family came to see me. Their claims for protection had been refused and they were being deported. They had to choose between returning to Northern Iraq, where they feared death, or being taken into immigration detention. They chose detention and I chose to find a new career.

I had become frustrated applying laws I fundamentally opposed and realised I needed to be part of making the law.

I wear a black suit and heels and drive a car to work. I have never chained myself to a tree or bulldozer, I don’t drink lattes, I have never smoked marijuana and I am not a vegetarian.

Instead, I was born in Canberra to two public servants and married a business owner. My political affiliation is not the result of my parents’ voting record, my occupation or income bracket, but represents my personal values, ideals and aspirations for the future.

For years I have written articles and spoken at conferences about an asylum-seeker policy that respects the rule of law and meets international legal standards, all the while expressing my frustration at the bipartisan support for laws that do the very opposite.

I have three children whose future is always at the forefront of my mind. I want them to have the same rights and freedoms that I have enjoyed. I want to teach them to be compassionate to those who ask for help, I want them to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, I want them to get a degree if they earn it not if they can afford it, I want them to see a dentist if a tooth aches and I want them to be able to buy a house if they work hard. To me, this is worth the fight, regardless of the odds.

I have been told my passion is “admirable” and then asked, “but why set yourself up to fail?”.

Failure is not standing up against the two old parties and fighting for something better only to fall short on polling day, failure is sitting by and letting the current state of politics continue unchallenged.

Carly Saeedi is the Greens candidate for Fenner at the next Federal election

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