I’ve always said I wouldn’t go into politics. “Don’t wrestle with a pig,” the saying goes, “because you both get covered in mud and the pig loves it.” But I am breaking that vow because our political system is broken. I have been a critic for too long: it’s time to throw my hat in the ring.

Julian Burnside will run as the Greens candidate in the seat of Kooyong against Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Credit:Jason South

Representative democracy depends on our parliamentarians actually representing us. Unfortunately, that’s just not happening at the moment. Far too many of our elected representatives simply do not listen to the people who elected them: they listen instead to their big corporate donors.

That, more than anything, is why I have decided to stand as a candidate for the Greens at the next federal election in the seat of Kooyong, even though it has been held by the Liberal Party (and its predecessors) since Federation.

I understand that this may come as a surprise to people who have followed my public career. I have often said I would not go into politics, so why stand now? And I have often said I was not a member of any political party, so why run for the Greens? And why in Kooyong, where I’ll have to face the Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg? And most importantly, what will I do if I win? I think those questions are fair enough.