Bega Valley mayor Kristy McBain will seek Labor's endorsement to replace outgoing Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly in the upcoming byelection.
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Councillor McBain, who rose to national prominence during the summer's bushfire crisis, will step aside as mayor in order to nominate for preselection but will remain an active councillor.
Candidates have until Monday to nominate for the upcoming byelection, although Labor leader Anthony Albanese made it clear on Friday councillor McBain had his support.
"I think that it's very clear to me the best candidate is and I want to be upfront about that, the best candidate for the people of Eden-Monaro is Kristy McBain," Mr Albanese said.
The south coast lawyer was a member of Young Labor in university and has rejoined the party in order to run.
Dr Kelly announced on Thursday he was resigning from parliament for health reasons.
Dr Kelly has undergone 10 surgical procedures in the past six months, linked to renal issues sustained during his time in the military after becoming severely dehydrated.
He also revealed the Department of Veterans' Affairs classified him as permanently impaired due to deteriorating osteoarthritis.
Dr Kelly said the timing of his retirement - which had been the subject of rumour for some months - was a way to refocus the nation on the electorate, which was ravaged by bushfires during the summer.
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Councillor McBain said people in Eden-Monaro felt forgotten, after the coronavirus crisis distracted the nation from the devastation the region suffered.
"People want leadership. They want it on the ground and they want it with them," she said.
"I was there with my community during the darkest days. We had 40 hours where there was no sunlight. They want to see you. They want to know that you're there. They want you to be with them.
"And many people don't care what the levels of government do, or who comes in where. They want to hear you. That was missing."
It's been a century since the government last took a seat from the opposition in a federal byelection.
Until 2016, Eden-Monaro was a notorious bellwether and had gone to the party that won government for 44 years.
Labor will look to run a campaign intensely focused on local issues, while the Coalition may try to capitalise on its national response to the coronavirus pandemic to win the seat.
But councillor McBain said the government had been found wanting on both its response to the virus and to the bushfires and drought.
"We have people that are still living in tents and caravans on properties, people that haven't been able to receive any meaningful support from the government, people that are being left behind in this COVID crisis as well, you know," councillor McBain said.
"In our electorate alone we have a huge number of seasonal and casual workers, and none of those have been picked up in any of the packages provided by the government, either in the bushfire crisis or in the COVID crisis."
However her selection may divide the electorate on geographic lines.
NSW Nationals MP John Barilaro, who lives in Queanbeyan - the largest population centre in the seat - is considering running. The Queanbeyan-Palerang shire had around 56,000 people at the 2016 census, while Bega Valley Shire had a population of 33,253.
However Dr Kelly said Mr Barilaro's stance on climate change policy might hurt him in an electorate that had been particularly vulnerable to its effects.
Large parts of the electorate had suffered through drought, the south coast's summer tourist season had been wiped out due to bushfires and the $2 billion ski industry was concerned about shorter seasons.
Councillor McBain said she was no climate change denier.
"Look I think everybody trusts the science around coronavirus and COVID-19. I can't understand why people don't trust the science on climate change. It's real, it's there and you can see it on the ground in Eden-Monaro," councillor McBain said.