After spending 17 years working behind the scenes in the Cunningham electorate Alison Byrnes is now stepping forward.
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Ms Byrnes has been part of retiring MP Sharon Bird's team since 2003. With Ms Bird deciding to step down at this election, Ms Byrnes chose to try her luck.
She won Labor pre-selection unopposed after the only other candidate Misha Zelinsky withdrew.
Ms Byrnes said she hadn't really entertained the idea of running, but Ms Bird kept suggesting it as an option over the years.
"You certainly don't start out thinking 'I'm going to take my boss' job' but Sharon definitely has encouraged a lot of women, including myself, to aim higher, to do their best," Ms Byrnes said.
"I know Sharon definitely wanted someone who cared about people in the role and the region after her."
The Labor candidate grew up in Woonona in a family that struggled at times - her father was a coal miner who was in and out of work.
She can remember her mother serving lambs fry but telling the kids it was steak so they didn't know times were tough.
That upbringing had given her a sense of empathy when it comes to dealing with the problems and worries of Cunningham's constituents.
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"I come from a background where my family did struggle and my dad did struggle to keep employment and the uncertainty that came with that," Ms Byrnes said.
"Watching your parents go through that does have an effect and it makes you want to look after other people a lot better and make sure they're not in that circumstance."
In recent months, the spectre of bullying in Canberra has been in the spotlight. Ms Byrnes acknowledges politics can be rough and tumble but the concern is when it crosses a line.
"I think it is competitive, the contest of ideas is competitive, the contest with positions is competitive," she said.
"And also it's all done in a national media spotlight as well. It is a high-stress environment but I think we could always do better with how we treat people - in any workplace - and in our community as well.
"I think making sure you've got good people in there that care about people makes a big difference to making sure we have a good workplace in the parliament."
Ms Bird is handing Ms Byrnes a very safe seat with a margin of 13.4 per cent - nothing short of an absolute calamity would see it change hands.
But the Labor candidate isn't figuring the race is already run.
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