From doing celebrity communications in London to working a sheep farm in Ararat, Michaela Settle has seen her fair share of occupations, but now she’s decided politics is her game.
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The Ballarat Community Health communications officer who cut her teeth on the campaign trail with Sharon Knight at the 2014 election has now put her hand up for a crack at a seat of her own.
Ms Settle took the title of Buninyong candidate in late October after she was unopposed during the party’s preselection process in September.
Ms Settle said her time with BCH had enforced the need to ensure health and education resources were available to all members of the community.
After experiencing a period of unemployment after her two young boys began to grow up, Ms Settle said she would also look to focus on dedicating resources to reskilling older workers in a changing workforce.
“We know that regional communities often have worse outcomes in health, education and even job prospects,” Ms Settle said.
“Buninyong’s a very big electorate that has a lot of different communities and I think the challenges in each of those communities will be different.
“What I’d really like to focus on is that no matter where you live in the electorate you’ve got the same access to health, education and jobs.”
She joins Wendouree candidate Juliana Addison and Ripon hopeful Sarah De Santis as the Labor offerings for the Ballarat region at next November’s state ballot, who were finalised as candidates last week.
Like Ms Addison, the communications worker comes into the contest at a rare time when the city’s main two seats will be without a sitting member come election time.
Incumbents Sharon Knight and Geoff Howard both announced they would step aside earlier this year.
While Buninyong will have had 19 years of continuous Labor representation by the time voters go to the polls in 2018, Ms Settle said she felt the party’s record in the electorate was a strong one.
“Geoff has really spent a lot of time getting out into the community and I want to continue that legacy.”
The Courier understands the Liberal Party is unlikely to nominate its candidates for Wendouree and Buninyong until early 2018, while incumbent Louise Staley will be hoping to retain her seat of Ripon.
