Labor endorses lawyer Terri Butler to contest Rudd seat of Griffith

Updated

Labor's candidate to contest the inner-Brisbane electorate of Griffith, left vacant by Kevin Rudd's resignation from Parliament, has defended the former prime minister's performance in the seat.

Terri Butler, a lawyer from the party's left faction, beat an airline pilot in the party's recent pre-selection process.

She will go up against the LNP's Bill Glasson in a by-election to be held early next year.

Dr Glasson won more primary votes than Mr Rudd in the September election, however the then prime minister held on with preferences.

Ms Butler says Mr Rudd served the seat and country well.

"I think people understand that Kevin Rudd, as well as being a formidable local member who had amazing connections with his local community and did a lot of work with organisations and schools, also had responsibilities nationally, and I think he did a really good job balancing those," she said.

Ms Butler says constituents understand why Mr Rudd quit parliament.

"I think people will understand that just as Alexander Downer and Peter Costello did, it's the honourable thing for a former leader to allow the community to move forward with a fresh, new representative," she said.

She says the by-election will be an opportunity for people to send a message to Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Ms Butler says the Government has had a shambolic first 100 days in office.

"What they (constituents) want is a government that will stand up for them and a representative that will look out for people on the south side," she said.

"It's a really important by-election and it's going to be tough, but I also know that people are really unhappy with Tony Abbott."

Ms Butler says people will want their say over the Coalition's education policy backflips, which she says is an important issue for the electorate.

Topics: federal-election, federal-government, federal-parliament, rudd-kevin, balmoral-4171, bulimba-4171, galloways-hill-4171, hawthorne-4171, morningside-4170, cannon-hill-4170, east-brisbane-4169, south-brisbane-4101

First posted