Nationals announce Andrianna Benjamin as state election candidate for Wagga

The 33-year-old businesswoman and former councillor has lived in Tumut since 1997 and plans to "steer the electorate in the right direction".

Standing in her way will be the reigning Member for Wagga, independent Joe McGirr, as well as the yet to be announced Liberal and Labor candidates.

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Ms Benjamin is currently the co-chief executive officer for healthcare provider HealthKlinix Australia and served on the inaugural Snowy Valleys Council from 2017 to 2021.

She said her experience as a councillor was what motivated her to help her community by stepping forward as a candidate in the NSW election.

"I think there's so much potential for this electorate and it's great to have young leadership steering it in the right direction," Ms Benjamin said.

Her main priorities over the next few months and if elected will be to hear from residents across the electorate about the issues important to them.

Ms Benjamin said her five key election issues were the cost of living crisis, the state of the region's roads, health, education and the future direction of the electorate.

"In general I think our roads are something we need to really focus on because they're a safety hazard - we need to be getting out there and fixing those as soon as possible," she said.

"With the cost of living we have seen a big difference in what it was just two years ago and what it is now and it's really becoming quite hard for our communities especially in regional NSW.

"Health and the workforce are both really important to me because we're really struggling with getting people on board in the workforce to get jobs done. We need more doctors and we need more nurses on the ground."

The electorate of Wagga has not been held by a member of the Nationals since Matthew Kilpatrick in 1941.

Nationals candidate Mackenna Powell received 26.0 per cent of the first preference votes in the 2019 state election but ultimately lost out to Dr McGirr, who received 44.6 per cent.

Ms Benjamin said she plans to improve on that result by "really getting out there and listening to the community and what they want for the future".

She said she is not concerned about the potential impact of both the Nationals and the Liberal parties putting forward candidates for the Wagga seat.

"That's a matter for the Liberals for me - I'm just focused on the Nats," Ms Benjamin said.

The NSW state election will be taking place on March 25.

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