POLITICS is a plight of passion for Wollondilly candidate Lynette Styles.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Ms Styles has now run for three separate elections and worked for the Wollondilly community as a councillor between stints as a criminal and family lawyer. It's the second time she has thrown down the gauntlet for the seat of Wollondilly after an attempt in 1998.
Ms Styles then contested the 2013 Federal Election against Hume MP Angus Taylor.
"I've always had a voice about issues," Ms Styles said.
"Sometimes I don't agree with decisions that are being made and I've always been interested in politics."
This time, Ms Styles is fighting for what she calls the "poor, country cousin" of the Southern Highlands.
"I live in Tahmoor, which has the highest unemployment rate in the Wollondilly," she said.
"There's a lot of crime in the area that affects the community and young people don't have jobs. So I'm campaigning for a 24/7 police presence."
Her focus is primarily on the northern end of the electorate and Ms Styles said it was because the Southern Highlands didn't need the things that were needed in the Wollondilly Shire.
"I can't campaign for resources you already have," she said. "The Southern Highlands is comfortable and has a beautiful hospital and police station, which we don't have.
"But if I was to campaign for the Southern Highlands on issues that affect the community, the main thing would be coal mining."
Ms Styles highlighted education and the train services to the region as other issues she could campaign for.
"We need new carriages and more services per hour instead of the current on-the-hour service we have now," she said.
"My platform is education, no coal and rail services."
Ms Styles is a member of the Palmer United Party and the secretary of the Wollondilly Residents and Ratepayers Association.
