'Beautiful opportunity' for Liesl Tesch
Labor candidate for Gosford, Ms Liesl Tesch, has called the chance to represent the people of her electorate a "beautiful opportunity".
The Paralympic champion said her diary already resembled that of a busy politician's so she was not daunted by her new role.
"I am loving it, I really am," Ms Tesch said during her first week of campaigning.
"I love meeting people and I already do all this stuff with the community."
She has already been busy door knocking on the Peninsula and has devised a survey she is hoping residents will complete so she can determine what their needs and priorities are.
Ms Tesch was born in Queensland, spent some time in New Zealand and then lived in Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.
She studied at Newcastle University and then moved to Sydney for teaching before settling on the Central Coast in 1996, settling at Woy Woy.
Ms Tesch was brimming with confidence about her ability to survive the tough life of a politician.
"Through my whole Paralympic career I have worked full time and managed my career, so I have already had a full time job, managed my community commitments and had a Paralympic career so I am already used to going hard,' she said.
Geography is her passion but she also teaches aboriginal studies and business studies.
Ms Tesch has a double degree in geography and science, studied Japanese and has lived in France, Spain and Italy.
In her role as a teacher at the Brisbane Water Secondary College senior campus, Ms Tesch has run a program for aboriginal students, a Best Buddies program to help students transition from the junior to the senior campus and she is the basketball coach, in addition to her usual teaching responsibilities.
"I have officially been in the Labor Party for three years but I have lived with Labor voting my whole life.
"When I sat down with my partner and discussed this he challenged whether the Labor Party would make me compromise my viewpoints and I said these are already viewpoints," she said.
Education is obviously one of her key areas of interest.
"I think, because I have come from public education, the importance of good education at grass roots level, access to quality preschool, and access to tertiary education for our kids so they can go into work, are important issues.
"I have come through the public health system with great support.
"I crashed my bike when I was 19, and I believe the current threat to privatise Wyong Hospital is going impact Gosford."
Ms Tesch said other priorities would include employment and "getting the Coast to move forward".
She said her early foray into campaign doorknocking revealed just how many people are not at home up until 7pm on the Peninsula.
"The commute to Sydney and the compromise to family life because people are on that road for 25 years are also important issues."
As a passionate geography teacher, Ms Tesch said she was also interested in the impacts of climate change on the residents of the Gosford electorate.
"We need as a society an adaptive system and I think our aboriginal elders are going to be part of that conversation; if anyone has adapted in our society it has been the aboriginal community.
"More than anything else I will be listening to the people of the Peninsula and really trying to get a feel for what the people want.
"If I am elected then I am responsible for their priorities; it is a beautiful responsibility but I want to know that people can approach me and tell me what their concerns are," she said.
Mental health advocacy, roads and infrastructure and the changes to Sunday penalty rates are also on her radar.
Interview, 2 Mar 2017
Leisl Tesch, Labor Candidate for Gosford
Reporter: Jackie Pearson
Woy Woy resident, Brisbane Water Secondary College teacher and the