By Parker McKenzie
You shouldn’t mistake climate scientist Doctor Chloe Mackallah as being a single-issue candidate for the seat of Bayswater.
Although the Save Lake Knox campaign inspired her to enter politics, it isn’t the only reason she is running as an independent in the November state election.
“We were just coming out of our final lockdown and the Save Lake Knox campaign had put up a sign at the lake and on their socials, saying that coming up to the state election in November that we’re looking for someone to run as an independent,” Dr Mackallah said.
“They were specifically looking for someone who was young, who was new to politics, but didn’t want someone who was a career politician; they wanted someone diverse and who had a background than a business person, a lawyer or a political staffer.
I thought, oh my god, wouldn’t it be amazing if there were more scientists, young people, with people in politics, well, I guess I’m all those things.”
Armed with a PhD in astrophysics and a career in climate data science, Dr Mackallah said she would like to see a better representation of young and queer people in politics.
“I’m trans and I’m a lesbian. There has never been a trans person elected to government at a state or federal level in Australia,” she said.
“I’ve been craving to have someone like me to vote for my entire life and it’s exciting to me that I get to be that person, but it should have happened a long time ago.”
On November 26, Dr Mackallah will be on the ballot with two sitting members of parliament: Ferntree Gully MP and Liberal Party candidate Nick Wakeling and Bayswater Labor MP Jackson Taylor.
In March, Mr Wakeling called for an advisory group including local representation to determine the future of Lake Knox and to consider designating it as a sanctuary. Mr Taylor told the Star Mail he supports the development of the site and he was disappointed to see the politicisation of the matter after the plan to retain the man-made dam was discovered to be unworkable.
Dr Mackallah said she is happy Mr Wakeling has “gotten on board” with the Save Lake Knox campaign.
“For a party who is historically even worse for the environment than Labor, it’s amazing he’s doing it,” she said.
“His plan, however, is very light and I must say quite uninspiring.”
She listed a lack of detail and a firm commitment to declaring the area a sanctuary as a weakness in the plan and added that her own plan on how to save Lake Knox would be released soon.
Dr Mackallah said there are three other issues she has identified based on feedback from her potential constituents, including caring for the environment.
“A lot of people are concerned about the health in the area with access to GPs. I’ve had people telling me that I had friends gone blind waiting for cataract surgery on the public system because they just can’t get it anywhere,” she said.
“The third is development in general. We’ve seen units getting built on mass, they’re terribly energy inefficient and aren’t built to last. We need to build more sustainably, think about access to services and not just building lots of houses.”
Dr Mackallah will host a Young Adult Forum on Thursday 27 October at 6.30pm, for people aged 18 to 35 in the eastern suburbs. For more information on Dr Mackallah’s candidacy, visit chloemackallah.com.au.
