Independent candidate for Forrest Sue Chapman hoping to hit ground running after campaign launch

The independent candidate hoping to see Forrest change hands at the next Federal election is set to hit the campaign trial after her run was formally announced earlier this month. In her first interview with the Times following her campaign launch in Bunbury, Sue Chapman said the reveal of her candidacy had been an enjoyable but also terrifying, monumental part of a bigger process. “This has been a very tricky decision for me to decide to move into this space, and it’s been difficult to kind of manage that,” she said. “Now that it’s public knowledge and it has been brought out into the media, into the community, I‘m hoping that it will actually make things a little easier in terms of talking to people and being able to be open and upfront about what it is that I’m moving into.” Dr Chapman has been part of the Voices for Forrest movement since its formation in July last year and said she was passionate about many of the issues brought up in the movement’s discussions with the community. “I really felt that it was something that really needed somebody to step into the space and I felt that for me, I brought many skills that would be necessary to this role,” she said. Among some of the issues Voices for Forrest’s community consultation highlighted included housing, cost of living, honesty and accountability in politics, and the balance between development and the environment. Dr Chapman is set to close her medical practice in December as she switches into full-time campaigning in the new year, with the Federal election needing to be held by May. She said she was looking forward to meeting as many people as she could. “I think that there’ll be an opportunity for lots of discussions, chats, town hall events and meetings,” Dr Chapman said. “Over the course of the campaign, obviously policy will be written, but at the moment, it’s still going to be very heavily into the bring your stuff to me, not this is my policy platform.” Dr Chapman’s main opponent during the campaign will be Liberal candidate Ben Small, who is hoping to retain Forrest for the party despite the retirement of long-serving MHR Nola Marino. The former WA Senator has already been campaigning for months in what has traditionally been a safe seat. “Since March, I’ve been working day in, day out to listen to our community about the issues that matter to them,” Mr Small said. “We are not taking a single vote for granted, and will keep making the case that to get Australia back on track, our country needs a Liberal Government.”