A United Nations food security expert and former aid worker is in the running for ACT Greens preselection to challenge Liberal senator Zed Seselja at next year's federal election.
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Australian National University graduate and UN World Food Program program officer Christina Hobbs said she was not allowed to comment about a possible preselection tilt for the party, ahead of next year's federal election, joining a series of possible candidates staying quiet about their involvement in the process.
A board director of the Global Women's Project and adviser to the anti-fossil fuel superannuation fund Future Super, Ms Hobbs has worked on a range of aid and environmental programs in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, as well as being a former a strategy adviser for consulting firm Deloitte Australia.
Ms Hobbs headed campaigns for Make Poverty History and was a deputy manager for World Wildlife Fund's Earth Hour in 2014. She has a masters degree in economics from the University of London.
She spent three years working on disaster preparedness in Nepal and helped organise fund-raising efforts in Canberra after Nepal's 7.8 magnitude earthquake in April. Ms Hobbs has also worked with Syrians living in tents in the Nizip refugee camp near the Turkish-Syrian border.
In 2013, Ms Hobbs joined protests against a proposed coalmine in the NSW town of Maules Creek, including locking herself to construction equipment to stop work.
Future Super founder Simon Sheikh confirmed in August he would sit out next year's poll to concentrate on his business and growing family. Mr Sheik, the former national director of political campaign group GetUp!, won 19 per cent of the vote in 2013, finishing third on preferences behind former Labor minister Kate Lundy and Senator Seselja.
If successful in preselection, Ms Hobbs could face a difficult task to take the territory's second Senate seat from the Liberals. One Greens party source said campaign resources were likely to be focused on holding the party's existing seats, including potentially difficult fights in Queensland, NSW and South Australia.
The dumping of Tony Abbott in favour of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has provided a boost in the Coalition's poll numbers and Greens senators face re-election in every Australian state at next year's election. Senator Seselja supported Mr Abbott in September's leadership challenge.
In Canberra, the Greens' preselection process is being run alongside preselection for the October 2016 ACT Legislative Assembly election and candidates are expected to be announced in November.
The Greens won't stand a full slate of 25 candidates at next year's ACT election, but convenor Sophie Trevitt said party candidates would be on the ballot in each of five ACT electorates.
ACT Labor's jockeying also continues. The party has not announced its formal preselection processes but factions are organising their candidates.
Canberra solicitor Jennifer Newman has confirmed she will stand for preselection in the party's Right faction for the Woden-Weston Creek seat of Murrumbidgee.
The ANU and University of Canberra graduate has worked as a litigation lawyer at Blumers Lawyers since October 2005, has volunteer experience and has been a member of the Women Lawyers Association ACT committee and the ACT Law Society's young lawyers committee.
Ms Newman is a member of the territory branch of the Australian Lawyers Alliance and is a former member of the Council of the ACT Law Society.
Correction: An earlier version of this story used an incorrect name for the anti-fossil fuel superannuation fund Future Super.
