ACT election 2016: who has been elected to the Legislative Assembly?

Chris Steel works in the community sector at Early Childhood Australia, advocating for the rights of young children with a focus on early childhood development and education. Steel has worked for the ACT and federal governments with a focus on policy areas of early childhood education and community services. He has previously worked in the union movement advocating on behalf of public servants and Australian Federal Police employees. Steel and his family live in Kambah, though he grew up in Woden, playing for Woden Valley Soccer Club and attending local schools like Torrens Primary and Melrose High School. He is a graduate in law from the ANU. Steel volunteers as a director on the board of YMCA Canberra and as a tutor for children with learning difficulties. He is an advocate for improving access to educational opportunities for Canberra children, and ensuring that the ACT is an inclusive community, particularly for vulnerable Canberrans.

Meegan Fitzharris, ACT Labor

Meegan Fitzharris is the Transport and Assistant Health Minister, and is likely to become Labor's health minister if re-elected. She lives in Gungahlin with her husband and three young children. She has a public policy background, particularly in policing, working for NSW Police during the Sydney olympics, and later for the AFP and federal Attorney-General's Department. Fitzharris has also been a stay-at-home mum, and participates in a number of community groups, including the Gungahlin Regional Community Service, and the Gungahlin Community Council. Fitzharris says her values are based on growth, opportunity, and fairness. Fitzharris became Chief Minister Andrew Barr's chief of staff after she missed a seat in the 2012 election. She was elected in a countback to fill outgoing chief minister Katy Gallagher's seat.

Suzanne Orr, ACT Labor

Suzanne Orr is an urban planner who grew up in Giralang, where she remembers playing cricket with the neighbours in her cul-de-sac and going to Girl Guides, then Brownies, at the local school hall. She grew up in a family that fostered more than 200 children, something she says taught her "even though we can do our best to help each other, sometimes we need a bit more support". She said it also showed her the important role that government can play in providing such support. Orr recently bought her first home in Franklin. She has actively campaigned on the environment, and recently worked with 350.org to urge the government to divest from fossil fuels.

Michael Pettersson, ACT Labor

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Michael Pettersson is a unionist and industrial officer with the CFMEU. He grew up in Canberra. Pettersson says he has worked "tirelessly to protect the workplace rights of local construction workers". He wants to keep Canberra on a path that balances growth with a fair go. He wants Canberra to become even more forward-looking, and advocates for the power of education investment. He believes in the power of education and wants investment in an education of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Ginninderra

Yvette Berry, ACT Labor

Yvette Berry is a sitting Labor member, and is expected to be named deputy chief minister, if the government is re-elected. She is a full-time working mum with two young children, and her family live in Dunlop in West Belconnen. Before joining politics, she worked in the hospitality industry for eight years, then joined the United Voice union. She has worked as a union organiser for 15 years. She describes herself as an advocate for social justice, concerned with industrial relations, housing affordability, education, and the rights of low paid and insecure workers. Berry has been housing and community services minister since 2014.

Tara Cheyne, ACT Labor

Tara Cheyne gained some prominence for her website, In the Taratory, an ACT-focussed review site, and strong social media presence. She moved to Canberra from Queensland eight years ago, and has been the chairwoman of the Belconnen Community Council and secretary for the Belconnen Arts Centre Board. She wants to bring experience and fresh ideas, and styles herself after former Ginninderra Assembly member Mary Porter, wanting to be open and accessible to the community.

Gordon Ramsay, ACT Labor

Gordon Ramsay is a former lawyer and the leader of Kippax Uniting Church, holding the role of executive minister for the past 20 years. He established and grew Uniting Care Kippax. He lives in Latham with his family, and describes Belconnen as his home and passion. He was a finalist in the Australian of the Year Local Hero awards last year, and has worked in a range of organisations to improve the lives of people doing it tough. He says his previous practice as a lawyer helps him bring "clear thinking and understanding" to his work.

Vicki Dunne has been sitting member for Ginninderra since 2001. Before entering politics she was a public servant in the Commonwealth Department of Education and the old Commonwealth Employment Service and was then a policy adviser to the ACT attorney-general and chief minister Gary Humphries. Dunne lives in Evatt where she and her husband raised their five children, all but one of whom still live in Canberra. Dunne has been active in community radio all her adult life and has been a patron and an on-going supporter of Karinya House Home for Mothers and Babies. She is very concerned about the cost of housing and how home ownership is becoming a thing of the past for young people. As a parent of children with chronic diseases, she is committed to better and more responsive health services in Canberra. She also knows that if we spend money on a tram for the few, the many will not see the services they want and need.

Elizabeth Kikkert, Canberra Liberals

As a mum, Kikkert has dedicated her life to the well-being of others – her five children, her husband, the Canberra community, youth and women's groups. She has been extensively involved in charity and community work. She was born in Tonga and immigrated to Australia with her family when she was nine. She moved to Canberra with her husband and three of her children 11 years ago - two more children were born here. Kikkert's husband is a public servant in Belconnen, where her children attend local schools. She is standing to improve the effectiveness of government. She wants to reduce rates, improve education, health, public transport and urban services.

Brindabella

Nicole Lawder, Canberra Liberals

Nicole Lawder is a sitting Liberal Assembly member, who is passionate about affordable housing and inequality. She has worked on issues of homelessness and disability, in the public service, at Deloitte Consulting, and in the community sector. Lawder has also worked at the Tidbinbilla tracking station. She has five adult children and stepchildren, and 12 grandchildren, something that fuels her desire to improve Canberra, including health, education and job opportunities. Lawder is a volunteer with her community fire unit, and enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family, dog Kenny the Dalmatian, and her chicken. Lawder is Liberal spokeswoman for family and community services, housing, environment, arts, and tourism.

Mark Parton, Canberra Liberals

Mark Parton, 50, is a father and stepfather, the son of a shopkeeper, who moved to Canberra in 1999. He lives in Bonython. He has worked for 33 years as a radio broadcaster and journalist, 17 of those years doing breakfast radio, including as talkback radio host on 2CC until last year. He owns a small communications consultancy, and has focussed on social media marketing since leaving 2CC. He volunteers for Hands Across Canberra and is a former board member of Pegasus Riding For the Disabled. Parton was born in Western Australia, and his father, who he describes as his hero, worked in a local supermarket in Narrogin to support the family. On radio, he took calls from Canberrans frustrated with being ignored and is standing to give those people a voice. He believes Tuggeranong has been left behind, and his top priorities are to stop the tram and invest more in growing the economy, education and health.

Andrew Wall, Canberra Liberals

Andrew Wall, a sitting Liberal Assembly member, worked in his family's construction business before joining politics. He says he experienced the day-to-day challenges of red tape, regulatory burdens, and the impact poor government decision making was having on business. He grew up in Tuggeranong, and he and his wife now live in Macarthur, where they plan to make a home for themselves and their young daughter Sophia. Wall is spokesman for industrial relations and corrections, among others.

Joy Burch was elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2008, and returned a strong primary vote in 2012. Burch worked as a nurse and worked in policy roles in government and non-government organisations before joining ACT parliament. She also managed her own childcare business and community health and support services. Burch said she had a strong commitment to accessible and affordable health care, access to high quality education services, and well planned and sustained growth across the Brindabella area. Burch said the sum of her experiences had given her a "well-rounded insight into the importance of effective, socially progressive governments". She was previously a minister.

Mick Gentleman, ACT Labor

Mick Gentleman is a sitting Labor member for Brindabella, and holds the ministerial portfolios of work safety, planning, roads, children and young people, and ageing. Gentleman has lived and worked in Canberra for his whole life, and ranks a $38 million support program for vulnerable kids as his proudest achievement. Before politics, he worked as a postman, mechanic, protective service officer, and raised his children in Tuggeranong. He has been on the boards of Tuggeranong Arts Centre and Canberra Men's Centre. Gentleman enjoys competing in rally driving, and working on cars and motorbikes.

Kurrajong

Andrew Barr, ACT Labor

ACT Labor leader and Chief Minister Andrew Barr is a near-certainty to retain his seat in this left-leaning electorate. Barr describes himself as a proud Canberran, social progressive, economic reformer and sports lover. Barr began in ACT parliament in 2006, and has served in a wide range of portfolios, becoming chief minister in 2014 to replace Katy Gallagher. Barr is the first openly gay state or territory leader in the country, and has actively championed same-sex marriage and LGBTIQ rights. He said he is working to improve Canberra by upgrading roads and public transport, diversifying the economy, and building a city that reflects the "pride Canberrans feel in their home".

Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Labor

Rachel Stephen-Smith has a varied background, working as chief of staff to Senator Kim Carr, a horse riding coach, diplomat, waitress, and in policy areas for government and non-government organisations. Stephen-Smith has been an active member of the local equestrian community, and helped rebuild the cross country course after bushfires in 2001 and 2003. She grew up in O'Connor, and went to Turner Primary, Lyneham High, and Dickson College. Stephen-Smith studied economics at the Australian National University.

Shane Rattenbury, The Greens

Shane Rattenbury is the leader of the ACT Greens and an incumbent of two terms, first entering ACT parliament in 2008. He has lived in Canberra for more than three decades and has campaigned on issues like clean energy, light rail, and marriage equality. For the past four years, he has served as the sole Green, giving Labor its majority through a power-sharing deal that sees him awarded a spot in cabinet. It is the first time an ACT Greens member has been a minister. Rattenbury is the Greens' lead candidate for Kurrajong and is expected to hold his seat.

Steve Doszpot, Canberra Liberals

Steve Doszpot and his parents arrived in Australia in 1957 as refugees from Hungary. Educated in Sydney, he was transferred to Canberra for a job in the computer industry where he worked for 25 years. He was elected to ACT Legislative Assembly in 2008. Doszpot has had extensive involvement in local sports as president of Soccer Canberra and as chairperson of the Canberra Olympic Council. He also organised Canberra's Olympic football involvement for the Sydney 2000 Games. With eight years in politics, Doszpot has become increasingly aware of local issues - rates increases, neglect of basic services and sporting ground maintenance.

Elizabeth Lee, Canberra Liberals

Elizabeth Lee is a lawyer, university lecturer, advocate for the legal profession, and fitness instructor. She migrated to Australia from Korea when she was seven, and moved to Canberra at 18 to study law at the ANU. She has lived in Kurrajong for the past 18 years and lives in Braddon. Lee has worked as a lawyer in government and private practice and has been chairperson of the ACT and Australian Young Lawyers committee, and councillor and vice-president of the ACT Law Society, her current position. She is a law lecturer at the ANU and UC and volunteers at the Legal Advice Bureau. Lee stood in 2012 and is putting her hand up again this year because she believes that Canberrans deserve a government that will govern for all, not just a few. She wants a government that will take pride in Canberra, be a champion for its people, and create a city that Australians want to invest their hearts in. She wants to see a government that takes responsibility for its decisions holds itself to account.