KYLEA TINK

NORTH SYDNEY

When the grassroots organisation North Sydney Independents went looking for a leader to represent the local community, Kylea Tink was the consummate candidate. She’d lived in the area for 15 years, raised a family there, launched businesses, served on boards and headed up charities.

“I’m not someone who ever saw herself going into politics,” says Tink, a disaffected Liberal voter. “But I realised that the decisions being made in federal government didn’t reflect my values, nor the values of Australia overall.” She points in particular to the way North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman used his vote in Canberra last year to block the presentation of the climate bill to parliament, to block the referral of Christian Porter to the privileges committee and to block debate around the establishment of an integrity commission. “I have no doubt that had the North Sydney community been asked if that’s how they wanted their vote to be used, the answer would have been no,” says Tink.

If she is elected, Tink won’t be afraid to lead with conviction. The former CEO of the McGrath Foundation was originally told that a Pink Test cricket match would never work but she persevered to create one of Australia’s most iconic sporting events.

She hopes to bring that kind of energy and out-of-the-box thinking to politics. “We need to transition to a sustainable future, to recognise a First Nations voice, to realise the opportunities for gender equality,” says Tink. “People are looking for hope and optimism; the independent movement is active hope.”