KERRY N WINS

THE WENTWORTH BY-ELECTION was mere weeks away when The Weekly’s medical practitioner, Professor Kerryn Phelps, announced she would stand as an independent candidate in the seat left vacant by former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. In that short period of time she secured an historic swing away from the government. At the time of writing, Kerryn (pictured with daughter Jaime Rose Chambers, Rob Chambers and grandson Billy), was still awaiting con rmation she’d be heading to Canberra to represent the voters of the Sydney seat. But the one thing that was clear was the people of Wentworth wanted an MP who wasn’t from one of the major parties.

“Before I even thought about doing it, I had people stopping me in the street asking me if I’d run because they were looking for an alternative,” Kerryn says. “They were looking for a candidate in a sensible centre. Somebody reasonable, with a safe set of hands that wouldn’t have to be answerable to the hard right of the party.” One issue that came up constantly during the campaign was climate change, she says. Rescuing children and families trapped on Nauru is top of her agenda.

“It’s such an important rst order issue.”