Twelve nominate for First Nations Voice election in the Murraylands’ region
Candidates from across the Ngarrindjeri nation, the Riverland and South East will compete for seven seats at Saturday’s election.
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Six Ngarrindjeri people are among 12 candidates who will vie for election to the First Nations Voice in the Murraylands, Riverland and South East this weekend.
While the state election has stolen most of the limelight, voting is also open for Indigenous South Australians to choose representatives who will advocate to the state government on their behalf.
Tim Hartman, a director of the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation and of First Nations engagement with the Murray Darling Basin Authority, will seek to be re-elected.
So will Adelaide-based educator Lisa Rigney, Mount Gambier mother and grandmother Danni Smith, Berri human resources professional Rob Wright, Narungga Kaurna health worker Dan Mitchell-Matthews and Ngangruku-Ngintait community leader Sheryl Giles.
Also nominated are:
- Stephanie Russell, a writer and artist
- Malcolm Aston, a cultural consultant and program manager
- Thomas Lovett, a Boandik cultural heritage officer
- Jazmin Bingham, a Gomeroi advocate and administration trainee
- Sarah Booth, a child protection liaison officer in the Adelaide Hills
- Alanna Lawson, a Wiradjuri Worimi community sector worker
Ngarrindjeri elder Eunice Aston, one of the inaugural members of the state Voice, opted not to seek re-election.
All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on the electoral roll are eligible to vote in the First Nations Voice election as well as the state election, at the same polling places and times.
The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional owners of the Murray Bridge district and areas to the southeast and southwest, including the Lower Lakes and Coorong.
But Voice members do not need to be traditional owners, as the body is intended to represent all of SA’s Indigenous people.
- More information: www.savoiceelection.sa.gov.au.
- Read more: Where to vote in the 2026 state election in the Murraylands
