Gilmore: Meet your candidates

Eight candidates are standing in the Gilmore electorate in Saturday’s federal election.

The current MP, Labor’s Fiona Phillips, retained the seat at the 2022 election by just 373 votes over the Liberal’s Andrew Constance. Both are standing again this election.

The seat was created in 1984 and named in honour of the noted poet and writer Dame Mary Jean Gilmore. It takes in three local government areas – Shoalhaven, Kiama in the north and parts of Eurobodalla in the south.

Region invited all candidates to submit their details for the following profiles. Candidates who did not respond were Melissa Wise (Trumpet of Patriots), Graham Brown (Family First) and John Hawke (One Nation). Information on these candidates has been sourced from their websites or social media.

Candidates appear in ballot draw order.

1. Fiona Phillips

Party: Labor

Background: Fiona Phillips is a mum of four, a former TAFE teacher and has been married to her husband, a small business owner, for 28 years. Born in Nowra and raised on a dairy farm at Terara and Worrigee, Fiona has lived on the South Coast for more than 40 years. Fiona has a Bachelor in Economics and a Masters in Business, and has more than 20 years’ employment experience in a range of areas including retail, defence and TAFE teaching.

Fiona first got involved in politics in 2009 by leading the successful six-year community campaign to save Nowra’s community pool.

Elected as Member for Gilmore in 2019, the impact of the 2019/20 bushfires, multiple disaster-declared floods and the COVID-19 pandemic became defining moments, shaping much of her focus while the community worked to recover, rebuild and improve local resilience to natural disasters.

Fiona is proud to have secured significant funding for local infrastructure and roads projects, such as the new Gerringong Surf Life Saving Club, the Jervis Bay flyover, the Nowra Bypass, and federal funds to repair landslips and road damage from natural disasters.
As well as delivering cost of living relief, Fiona is particularly focused on improving access to local health services. She has delivered a headspace at Kiama, a Medicare Mental Health Centre at Moruya, and the Batemans Bay Urgent Care Clinic.

Top five priorities:

• Cost-of-living and education
• Healthcare
• Housing
• Renewable energy
• Infrastructure and roads.

For more information visit Fiona’s website or Facebook.

2. Kate Dezarnaulds

Party: Community Independent

Background: Kate Dezarnaulds is a dedicated community leader, small business owner and advocate for strong, connected communities across the South Coast. Based in Berry, she has helped strengthen local businesses and tourism, doubling membership of the Berry Chamber of Commerce after COVID and leading the town to win Top Tourism Town three years running. Her own business was named Shoalhaven Small Business of the Year in 2024.

Kate has served on the boards of the National Trust and Shoalhaven Tourism and designed and delivered the $4.7 million Investing in Rural Community Futures program, supporting more than 120 grassroots organisations with recovery after the Black Summer fires.

As a local parent married to a builder, she understands firsthand the pressures facing families in Gilmore. Independent and community-focused, her decisions are guided by Gilmore’s needs, not party politics.

Top five priorities:

• Affordable housing and healthcare: advocating for federal investment in community housing, addressing GP shortages, strengthening mental health services, and supporting essential workers
• Powering the future: backing renewable energy projects that create local jobs, lower energy bills, and protect our environment for generations to come
• Community resilience: fighting for better disaster preparedness funding, supporting conservation projects, and strengthening community programs
• Honest leadership: delivering transparent, independent representation focused on the needs of the community, not party politics
• Protecting what we love: championing thoughtful development that preserves the natural beauty, Aboriginal heritage, and character of Gilmore’s towns and landscapes.

For more information visit Kate’s website, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

3. Melissa Wise

Party: Trumpet of Patriots

Background: Melissa is a passionate advocate for justice, women’s and children’s rights, and has long been vocal on the need for domestic violence and family law reform, as well as mental health and wellbeing support for all Australians. Having lived and worked across the globe, from Austria and London to Australia’s east coast, Melissa brings with her a broad international perspective and a deep commitment to connecting with people from all walks of life.

Her professional experience includes work in the airline industry, as well as a stint in banking with Barclays in London and roles in magazine publishing for some of Australia’s most well-known titles.

Melissa’s campaign with the Trumpet of Patriots will focus on restoring common-sense government, defending individual freedoms, and fighting for policies that prioritise everyday Australians.

Trumpet of Patriots’ priorities:

• Slash immigration by 80 per cent and prioritise needs of Australians
• Eliminate government debt with a 15 per cent licence fee on iron ore exports
• Double fees for international students so Australians can enjoy free university education
• Allow Australians to use part of their super for a home deposit and ease the housing crisis
• Abolish net zero
• Feed 3.7 million households who currently go hungry.

Click here for more information on Trumpet of Patriots.

4. Debbie Killian

Party: The Greens

Background: Debbie worked for 30 years in the public service and not-for profit sectors focusing on those who are vulnerable or marginalised. As a teacher, a youth worker, a health worker and ultimately a senior manager in health and local government, she gained a great deal of experience in working with communities and individuals to develop their own strength and direction.

Top five priorities:

• Fixing the cost-of-living crisis with real measures such as getting dental and mental health into Medicare and making GP visits accessible and free; wiping all student debt to give young people the opportunity to start their adult lives debt-free and make university and TAFE study free
• Address the housing crisis by supporting renters through caps to rent rises; remove the handouts to rich property investors by grandfathering negative gearing and capital gains tax breaks to help bring prices down; and implementing a government home building program (60,000 homes over a decade) for both rental and sale at affordable prices
• Implement a rapid shift to clean, cheap renewable energy for the sake of our climate and our energy bills by supporting development of solar, wind and battery adoption at individual, community and government levels including a plan for rental installations; and to subsidise EV uptake and development of an appropriate charging network to support them. Stop approving new coal and gas projects
• Begin a National Truth Telling process led by First Nations people but including non-Indigenous Australians to build a pathway to treaty
• Tax the corporations and very high wealth individuals who currently pay little or no tax in order to pay for the things our communities need, like those mentioned above and better regional roads, and much more.

Click here for more information on The Greens.

5. Graham Brown

Party: Family First

Background: Graham Brown is a husband, father of two adult children and grandfather to two grandsons. He is the managing director of his own company Euro Civil which he and his wife began in 2000. Euro Civil installs safety barriers on the roads across the state. Previously to that he was a dairy farmer and has much experience and knowledge of the land. Graham has scaled back from being hands-on in his business now that his son runs it, so it gives him more time to be out in the community and to do the things that are important to him.

He has just joined the local branch of Rotary, and has successfully completed a pastoral care course. Graham is a leader in his local church where his wife is the pastor, and his Christian values are the core of everything he believes in and does. He is passionate about helping people and is involved in many areas of church life. Graham believes it is time to stand up for family values and all the other issues which he can see need change and has decided to align with Family First in the electorate of Gilmore.

Click here for more information on Family First.

6. Andrew Constance

Party: Liberal Party

Background: Andrew Constance will be a strong voice in Canberra for Gilmore. As a former local member in the state parliament, Andrew has delivered numerous local transport infrastructure projects including upgrades to the Princes Highway and its duplication between Berry and Bomaderry. He helped secure more than $1 billion in investment for the new Eurobodalla Hospital, the new Shellharbour Hospital and the upgrade of Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital. Andrew has the experience and track record to deliver for our community.

Top five priorities:

• Lower inflation: a Liberal government would cut wasteful spending, reduce red tape and let small business flourish
• Energy needs to be cheaper: the Liberal team will use a mix of renewables, gas, and zero-emissions nuclear energy to power Australia and reverse skyrocketing prices
• A fair deal for motorists: cut fuel excise by 50 per cent for 12 months and dump Labor’s damaging and unfair car and ute tax
• Home ownership: spend $5 billion to build up to 500,000 new homes and letting first-time buyers make their interest payments tax deductible up to $650,000
• Quality health care: invest $9 billion into general practice to restore Medicare bulk billing and return the number of Medicare-subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20.

For more information visit Andrew on Facebook, Instagram.

7. John Hawke

Party: One Nation

No further details or picture available.

8. Adrian Carle

Party: Legalise Cannabis Party

Background: Adrian brings more than 25 years of experience in media and advertising to his candidacy, offering a deep understanding of communication, leadership, and the power of messaging to drive real change. Throughout his career, Adrian has led teams, managed complex projects, and worked with people from all walks of life. His ability to listen, connect, and find common ground has made him a trusted figure in business and community spaces.

Adrian’s leadership style is rooted in empathy and practical thinking. He believes that collaboration and respect are key to solving big problems – especially when it comes to issues as urgent and misunderstood as drug policy. After years of watching the failures of the current approach to drug use in Australia, Adrian is convinced we need a new path forward.

He is passionate about drug law reform and firmly believes the current system is broken. It’s time for a smarter, evidence-based approach – one that treats people with dignity and focuses on harm reduction. Adrian supports the legalisation and regulation of cannabis as a safer, more sensible alternative to criminalisation.

Through Legalise Cannabis, Adrian is committed to driving meaningful reform, improving public health outcomes, and opening up new opportunities for education, innovation, and economic growth.

Click here for more information on the Legalise Cannabis Party.