Stuart Benson
Labor Candidate for Clark
Stuart holds strongly to the values of equality, fairness, and opportunity for all.
For nearly 20 years, Stuart has been on the ground campaigning and fighting for progressive change, as an organiser for the Labor Party.
Stuart was raised by his mum in public housing in Burnie.
It was social security that allowed Stuart’s mum to support him and his brother into better opportunities than she had.
Not everyone is born on an equal playing field, and Stuart has seen firsthand how challenging life can be for people without proper support. Stuart understands that governments can, and governments should, break down barriers to spread opportunity.
Stuart has lived in nipaluna/Hobart for 19 years, after moving here to attend university. Being the first person in his family to go to university, Stuart has experienced how education can be a silver bullet in improving people’s lives.
Having lived with a chronic illness since his teens, Stuart has experienced how broken our health system is. Stuart knows the delays and struggles to see a specialist, and to undergo even basic procedures. Stuart’s brother is a paramedic, and his mum works in a hospital pharmacy. Stuart hears the stress our hardworking healthcare workers are under. Tasmanians need, and deserve, a properly resourced health system.
Stuart is a Rainbow Labor candidate. Stuart led the campaign to put marriage equality into the Tasmanian Labor Party platform in 2009, and then the Australian Labor Party platform. Stuart continues to work to develop a socially inclusive society where everyone feels valued and included.
Stuart wants to be a voice for a caring and inclusive Tasmania where no one goes without the basics, and everyone gets the opportunity to reach their full potential.
Making real and lasting change requires having a party of government willing to do it. This is why Stuart is running as a Labor candidate.