Greens 22yo to replace Ludlam in Senate

The Greens have confirmed 22-year-old Jordon Steele-John is set to fill the seat left vacant by Scott Ludlam in the Senate.

The 22-year-old disability advocate set to fill the Greens seat left vacant by Scott Ludlam has vowed to smash stereotypes and represent the interests of the young and disabled in federal parliament.

Jordon Steele-John insists he is ready for the job after "careful reflection" as he prepares to become Australia's youngest senator.

He has vowed to use his role as a senator for Western Australia to give young people and those with disabilities a voice in parliament.

"Over the course of my life I've learned that to be a young person with a disability in contemporary Australia is to occupy the intersection of some of our society's most ingrained myths and most damaging preconceived ideas," he said on Thursday night.

"At every opportunity I've worked hard to bust these myths, challenge these preconceived ideas and be a strong voice for the issues that matter to me.

"I now look forward to tackling these issues on the floor of the Senate."

It follows Mr Ludlam's resignation last week amid revelations he was a dual-citizen, still holding citizenship in his country of birth, New Zealand.

The question of Mr Ludlam's eligibility must first be determined by the High Court, sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns.

The WA Greens have confirmed backing for Mr Steele-John if he is elected to the Senate as a result of a countback.

"Jordon has been an active Greens member for many years, and is well known and respected outside the party for his work in the youth and disability sectors," WA Greens co-convenors Sarah Nielsen-Harvey and Grahame Bowland said.

"As per the party by-laws, an open pre-selection will be conducted later this year as was previously planned by the party, to determine our lead Senate candidate at the next federal election."

Mr Steele-John was number three on the Greens WA Senate ticket at the 2016 federal election, behind Mr Ludlam and Senator Rachel Siewert.

Mr Ludlam's resignation was followed days later by the resignation of Greens senator Larissa Waters, after she discovered she too was a dual-citizen.

They were replaced as co-deputy leaders of the party on Thursday afternoon after the Greens party room determined Adam Bandt and Senator Siewert would fill the roles temporarily.

Senate President Stephen Parry has written to the governors of Queensland and Western Australia notifying them of the resignations of Ms Waters and Mr Ludlam.

He told the governors he could not advise them on how the seats should be filled until the Court of Disputed Returns makes its determinations on their eligibility.

Senator Parry will report to the Senate when it returns on August 8 and it is expected the upper house will pass a resolution to refer the two cases to the High Court.

If the court finds the two senators were ineligible, the next candidate on the 2016 Greens tickets in Queensland and WA will fill the seats.


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Source: AAP



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