ACT Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur has announced she won’t be recontesting her Murrumbidgee seat in next year’s election.

The self-described “hippy from Nimbin” will be retiring after two-terms in parliament. She was previously elected as a Member for Molonglo in 2008, where she helped secure the ACT’s greenhouse gas reduction target, improved consultation on local planning and strengthened animal welfare.

Before her time in politics Ms Le Couteur was the founding director of Australian Ethical Investment, an ASX listed company that only invests in ethical and responsible companies.

She has also been the executive director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, a not-for-profit organisation that fights to improve the sustainability of Australian businesses.

Ms Le Couteur grew up in Canberra and studied economics at ANU, and lived in Canberra for most of her life, spending nearly 20 years in Woden where she now resides with her husband.

Following news of her retirement, Chief Minister Andrew Barr says Ms Le Couteur has been a strong advocate for her electorates of Molonglo and now Murrumbidgee, and has supported a number of key reforms during her time in the assembly.

“This includes her continued support for the Government tax reform agenda and efforts to reduce stamp duty, and more recently her backing of the Government’s efforts to introduce a fairer Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance scheme for the ACT,” Mr Barr says.

“Without her support, these reforms would not have been implemented.

“I look forward to working with her on implementing the final items detailed in the Parliamentary Agreement between the ACT Greens and ACT Labor in the months ahead. 

“[And] on behalf of the ACT Labor team,  I wish Ms Le Couteur and her family all the very best.”