First independents to contest 2024 ACT election revealed

Businessman Peter Strong and medical scientist and former diplomat Ann Bray have revealed they plan to run as independents in the October poll.

More are expected to announce their candidacy over the coming months with Mr Strong and Ms Bray saying they want at least four independents to hold the balance of power.

The group of independents are likely to form an alliance to strengthen their chances at the ballot box.

Mr Strong is the former chief executive of the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia and used to own Smiths Alternative Bookshop.

Ms Bray is a medical scientist and worked in the public service and private sector for 35 years. She was most recently working as a diplomat in the United States.

Mr Strong will run in Kurrajong and Ms Bray will run in Murrumbidgee.

Neither said who they would form government with if they held the balance of power. Ms Bray said she would base any decisions on a number of considerations including the result of the election.

"There's going to be a number of considerations. It's going to be who has the most votes, whether there was a swing against Labor, what the parties' policies were and how much they are willing to put in place some of the things that we might want to get across the line," she said.

Mr Strong said it would be odd to support the continuation of a Labor-led government but said the Liberals were not a good alternative.

"The government's been there too long so it would be an odd thing if Labor kept going," he said.

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The pair have highlighted transparent government administration, genuine consultation, transparent communications and evidence-based decision-making as part of their pitch but also have their individual polices.

Ms Bray said she wanted to push the Assembly to have the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission examine the economic viability of the light rail line to Woden. She would also push for a city stadium, saying Bruce was not easily accessible for many Canberrans.

Ms Bray retired last year and was exploring ways to give back to the community. She was approached about running as an independent and decided it was something she was willing to do.

"I definitely think there's something that I can do to help make sure we have good, solid decisions in government," she said.

Ms Bray said she was socially progressive but economically she was a Liberal. She was previously a member of the Liberal party but left as she felt they became too conservative and was disappointed following the children overboard incident.

She said in the following years she had voted for Labor, Greens, Liberal and independent candidates.

Mr Strong said he had never been a member of a political party. He said he was concerned with issues around small businesses, saying the government had not connected with them. He also hit out at the Canberra Liberals.

"I blame the Liberal party here. How dare they let this government be in power for 23 years. There is a part of the Liberal party who don't care if they're in power as long as their opinions rule the Liberal party, they couldn't care about anything else. They are the far right," he said.

Mr Strong said having a group of independents successfully running in the ACT election would allow for a greater diversity of views within the Assembly and allow more debate between members.

"Here's an opportunity for all of us to have a group of people who support a government with supply but can debate among themselves about particular issues, come to an agreement, have a vote on it and move on from there," he said.

"Not to be decided by party politics or by outside forces but to be decided by the people that have been elected in there."

The Canberra Times understands there are other potential independents aligned with the group, but they are yet to go public.

Mr Strong said he had been approached to run as an independent in the last four elections. He conceded there was no chance of independents getting in alone, so they would need to work together to boost their chances.

"Independents can't get in ... so we're going to have to think differently as a group of independents," he said.

"One of the things that comes up in every election I've been in is is it possible to form a group of independents and the answer they say is 'are you an independent if you're in a group'. I think you can be."