Born and raised in the nation’s capital, Isabel Mudford is no stranger to the city’s issues.
Running as The Greens’ candidate for Canberra in the 2025 Federal Election, she’s fighting for change regarding three big-ticket matters: affordable housing, free education, and immediate climate action.
“If we keep going down the path we’re going down, nobody’s going to be able to get a home, the world’s going to be on fire. We need really quick and rapid solutions to the problems that everyday people face.”
With the world in economic disarray, and cost-of-living at the forefront of many minds, part of Mudford’s solution lies in closing the financial gap.
“The kind of systemic inequality—that’s driven by these kinds of laws that seek to benefit the rich, and shovel public money into private hands—is at the same kind of levels as it was just prior to the French Revolution.”
When pitching to voters, Isabel says that her and the Greens’ policies will shape Australia into a fairer and juster society.
“What we’re offering is a systemic solution to massive inequality, and that’s why we think young people should vote for us. Because these are people’s futures at stake.”
For Isabel, the decision to run as a candidate did not come easy.
After working as a senior policy advisor for the ACT Greens in the Legislative Assembly for two years, Isabel received a phone call asking if she wanted to run as a federal candidate.
Her initial response: “Who, me? Old Muggins here? I don’t know about that.”
“I got repeated asks from people, and I was really skeptical on it. In fact I was so skeptical on it…that they had a first round of applications, and I didn’t put my name forward. To be the face, and to be the voice as well, for something that you care about so much is a significant responsibility.”
But after the first round of applications lapsed, and later extended, Mudford found herself reconsidering the decision.
Out in her sidewalk garden near Gang Gang Café, she recalls thinking, “oh, bugger it.”
“The issue of Palestine was on my mind, and I thought, look, I’ve always tried to do what I can where I am, and if I’m being asked to have this platform right now, there is nothing more I could do for Palestine than to just say ‘yes, okay, I’ll run for the Greens’.”
According to Mudford, the time for change is now. She notes that big existential concerns are looming close on the horizon, and believes we don’t have long to fix them.
With only two weeks to go until the federal election, the question is whether the issues and solutions Isabel and the Greens bring to the table will be enough to win over the electorate.
To learn more about Isabel Mudford’s journey into politics, the changes she is advocating for, and the inner-workings of a political party, have a listen to the full interview on The Owl News.
Photos by Alison Kennelly