I joined the Greens in 2022 when I started to think of the future my young adult daughters would face. Only the Greens will do what is necessary for them to live on a safe planet. Only the Greens have the drive and policies necessary to allow my daughters to have stable and affordable housing and only the Greens will make the changes necessary for everyone to participate in, contribute to and benefit from our society and economy.
Since joining, I have been my active in my local Blue Mountains group, serving as Treasurer for normal operations as well as for three campaigns. I have also contributed as a regular group representative at the SDC as well as at Local Government Advisory Group.
At the State level, I have spent a year on the Greens Political Education Trust, helping organise and presenting at the 2024 Reboot conference. I currently serve at the party’s Deputy Treasurer and for the last eighteen months I been working with the Treasurer and staff members to review and find ways to improve and stabilise our financial sustainability. As convenor of the Justice Working Group, I have also had the great honour to have helped guide the development of the party’s current Youth Justice Policy. The drive, energy and intellect of the people who participated in this process demonstrated beautifully what we, as Greens, can achieve when we participate actively in trying to 0generate change and progress in our society.
My education includes a Bachelor of Business with an Accounting Major and a Graduate Diploma in Politics and Policy, both of which I completed externally while also employed full time. In addition to this, for thirty years I worked in the finance sections of a number of Local Governments, advancing to the role of Finance Manager of a mid-sized Council. The studies outlined above, combined with my work experience, I think, has given me a strong grounding in public finances and how complicated it is to manage the expectations for services and facilities with limitations on the amount and nature of revenues that can be raised.
For the last eight years, I have worked as a Parole Officer and my regular contact with inmates, their families and sometimes, their victims has brought me face-to-face with the disadvantage in terms of education, employment, mental health and finances that so many of our community face on a regular basis.
Active participation is vital to our movement and I invite you all to engage in this preselection process
Grant O’Leary
