Nicolette Boele is Changing the Bradfield Landscape
In the 2022 federal election, independent candidate Nicolette Boele, backed by Voices of Bradfield, made headlines by significantly reducing the Liberal margin in Bradfield from 16.56% to 4.23%. This marked the first time Bradfield became a marginal seat, signifying a notable shift in the area’s political landscape.
The Liberal Party’s support dropped dramatically, with their primary vote falling to 45.05%, the first time it dipped below 50% in Bradfield. This 15.28% swing against the Liberals was the largest nationwide.
“We don’t run our campaign to run against the incumbent. We run our campaign for the community,” Nicolette Boele told The Post. “We’ve kept the office in Gordon going since the election; it’s not like a Phoenix resurrection. We haven’t stopped.”
Nicolette described the past year as the autumn and winter stages of her campaign, “We’ve been fine-tuning our processes and systems, getting our insurances up to date, training key staff, refreshing the brand. We’ve been doing a lot of the stuff we can do in quiet time, but we also don’t want to burn people out. So, we’ve been head down, bottom up on our strategy on how to give it a different go this time around.
Reflecting on the significant electoral shift in Bradfield, Nicolette noted, “People who care about the environment, economic conservatives who also care about affordable housing and community welfare, they just wanted something different. They didn’t feel represented by the previous Liberal government, especially on climate, women’s issues, and integrity.”
Nicolette has been actively listening to local concerns through door-to-door visits and kitchen table discussions. Issues such as road safety in South Turramurra, the cost of private education, and insufficient public funding for education are important to locals, despite being local rather than federal matters.
Aware of Bradfield’s ageing population and the increasing number of young adults aged 18-30, Nicolette acknowledged their shared concern over the rising cost of living.
“When people say ‘cost of living’, that can be anything. It can be the price gouging when you go to Woolies and Coles. It can be the cost of petrol. It can be an increase in power bills. But broadly, it’s life has become more expensive.”
The topic of housing and the hotly discussed Transport Oriented development also became a feature of discussion between Nicolette and the community.
“It’s very bizarre. To draw a 400 and 800-metre circle around a transport node and not look at biodiversity corridors, heritage, topography, infrastructure needs around parking and health, education, storage and transport. It just… It doesn’t have to be this bad. It could have been better.”
Nicolette Boele continues to deeply engage with the Bradfield community, listening attentively to their concerns and advocating for their interests. Her campaign, marked by a historic electoral shift in Bradfield, reflects a growing desire for change among residents who feel underserved by traditional political representations.
