Sustainable Australia Party
Sustainable Australia Party is an independent community movement from the political centre, with a positive plan for an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable Australia. We believe in an evidence-based approach to policy - not an extreme left or right ideology.
Sandra Jephcott for Groom
Sandra Jephcott is a veterinarian and farmer and lives on a 4000 hectare property west of Toowoomba near the town of Surat. Toowoomba is Sandra's social, business and healthcare centre.
Born in PNG, Sandra was educated in Armidale NSW and completed her veterinary degree (BVSc) at University of Queensland, Master of Science (MSc) at James Cook University and MBA at Bond University. Her extensive veterinary work experience includes farming and livestock in PNG, an equine clinic in South Australia, head veterinarian for a pastoral company throughout Queensland and NT, and head veterinarian for a large agricultural company in Russia. She was nominated for Queensland Rural Woman of the Year.
Sandra has a strong volunteering background including involvement with Bush Heritage, Australian Veterinary Association and Agforce.
Sandra believes that the Groom by-election offers voters an opportunity to send a message to the two major parties that we’re not happy with business as usual politics - including rampant overdevelopment and systemic political corruption that negatively impacts on the environment.
Campaign issues
In Groom, Sandra and Sustainable Australia Party are campaigning to:
Protect our environment
Better manage water security , including through lower wastage
water security Act on climate change
Preserve Toowoomba's limited green space [1]
Stop overdevelopment
Save Mt Lofty's pristine escarpment from housing development
escarpment from housing development Protect prime agricultural land around Toowoomba from housing sprawl
Better planning for Toowoomba's flood and bushfire-prone geography, including proper community consultation, infrastructure provision and lower population growth
Support the environmentally appropriate route for inland rail
Stop corruption
Establish a federal anti-corruption commission to remove the undue influence of vested interests, including property developers
Stop foreign ownership of our farms, housing and land
And much more...
SAP's full policy platform can be found here:
www.sustainableaustralia.org.au/policies
Get involved
> Donate
Please donate to Sandra's campaign: Click here.
> Volunteer
If you'd like to letterbox or hand out HTV cards, click here and mention 'Groom by-election' in your comment.
Also, see polling places below...
> Join
Sign up: Click here
> Contact
Email: groom @ sustainableaustralia.org.au
Phone: TBC
Facebook: votesustainable
Twitter: votesustainable
Instagram: votesustainable
Preferences
As an independent community party, after you Vote 1 for Sustainable Australia Party, we prefer that YOU decide where to direct your own preferences. Number all boxes. More here.
REMEMBER: You cannot waste your vote by voting for a minor party! Voting for a minor party is the only way to send a clear message that you are not happy with Lib/Lab! If you vote 1 Sustainable Australia and we don't win, your vote flows on at full value to the next party you choose e.g. Lib or Lab at [2] or later.
Polling place volunteering
Important: SAP volunteer and voting centre behaviour guidelines HERE
Early Voting Centres / Election day Voting Centres
See: https://www.aec.gov.au/groom/
Pre-polling - 11 November to 27 November
Polling day - 28 November
[1] Brisbane Times: "Despite holding a Carnival of Flowers each year, Toowoomba came in last nationally for its resident's access to green space."
Groom, highlighted in green, within the state of Queensland.
Portrait of Jephcott.
Voters in the Australian  of  are scheduled to go to the polls in a  this week following the resignation of  MP  for family reasons.

Groom is located in the state of Queensland, and is centred around the city of . At the last , the Liberal National Party, Queensland's dominant conservative party, won this seat by over 70% of the , and since the seat's creation in 1984, it has been held by conservative political parties. 

Some political analysts considered this a foregone conclusion, with analyst Kevin Bonham having declared it on his blog as "Australia's most boring by-election", however Bonham noted the size of the swing may have been indicative of the dominant centre left 's general performance in Queensland. There was a 4.2% swing against the Labor Party in the state of Queensland at the previous federal election.

''Wikinews'' spoke to one of the four candidates running in the by-election, Sandra Jephcott, who is running for the  party. Sustainable Australia describes itself as a "independent community movement from the political centre". According to the party's website, Jephcott is a  and farmer, who has completed a veterinary degree from the University of Queensland, as well as a  at  and a Master of Science at . With ''Wikinews'', Jephcott discussed climate change, COVID-19, water security, and foreign ownership.