By NIKKI TODD
YEARS on the frontline fighting crime as a policewoman gave Justine Elliot a yearning to do all she could to help the community.
“I really loved policing, it was challenging in a lot of ways but it taught me a lot about dealing with people in different situations,’’ Ms Elliot said.
“It also helped a lot in formulating my views about why politics and government are important.
“While I believe at the end of the day that everyone is responsible for their own actions, at the same time governments have really got to provide good foundations for people; good health, good education, good access to services and what you often see in policing is people who never had access to that at all.’’
After spending seven years on the frontline on the Gold Coast, Ms Elliot left the force to have children with her husband Craig, a fellow policeman.
While having their children, Alex, now 14 and Joe, 13, Ms Elliot returned to university, studying a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Relations and Human Resources to build on her interest in social and juvenile justice.
It was that commitment to community that spurred Ms Elliot on to join the Labor Party and later to run for office, wresting the seat of Richmond from former Nationals MP Larry Anthony in 2004 by a narrow margin of just 300 votes.
Since then, Ms Elliot has managed to grow her support and now sits with a comfortable buffer of seven per cent going into Saturday’s poll.
However, she is not taking her position for granted, vowing to fight “until 6pm on Saturday night’’ to keep Richmond in Labor hands.
Despite nine years in the role, Ms Elliot remains dedicated to the job, counting her fight against coal seam gas exploration and mining as her number one issue at this election.
“My heart, why I am in policy, is making life better for the people of this community,’’ she said.
“I love the really hands-on work of being a local MP. It still provides me with passion and commitment and which, for this election, is very much about me fighting coal seam gas mining up here. It is a huge community issue – everywhere I go, regardless of their age or background, everyone is against it.’’
In her downtime, Ms Elliot likes to spend time with family on their new property at Nunderi, where they recently moved after living at Fingal Head for 20 years.
“We’ve started growing a new pumpkin patch and we love that,’’ Ms Elliot said.
“I love having a little bit more land and growing the pumpkins, it is peaceful.’’
