Ariana Doolan is the LNP party candidate who has been pre-selected for Pumicestone in the upcoming Queensland election. Here is a brief glimpse into Ariana and some of her plans.
Q: Who is Ariana and what is her background?
A: Ariana’s parents are both educators – her father as Head of Science at Glasshouse Christian College and mum a former Head of Special Needs at Caboolture High School working with disengaged students.
Ariana threw herself into her studies and set a personal goal of becoming a school dux in Year 12, which she did.
Along the way, she became very passionate about the arts and comedy, trying some acting and at 16 scored a role in a Netflix TV show with Australian comedian, Chris Lilley. She found humour a great way of engaging and connecting with people, an experience which will serve her well in politics.
Being passionate about protecting the environment, Ariana commenced working as a youth program coordinator at Zero Positive assisting with running school programs and providing data and educational resources that teachers could integrate into the students' lessons.
Her coordination role involved setting up student committees for environmental events, marketing, social media, fundraising and public awareness, with lots of public speaking, all skills which will prove beneficial in her upcoming campaign. She went on to study Environmental Science at Griffith University.
"I knew the environment was very important to me, especially protecting the environment for the future generations and I knew in the future how crucial sustainable business and environmental management would be and where I could get a job,” Ariana said.
Earning a Sir Samuel Griffith Scholarship in the Honours College and now studying Business Environmental Science, majoring in environmental management and sustainable business.
Q: What motivated you to get into politics at such a young age?
A: “I was tired of standing on the sidelines and seeing how our community was constantly being short-changed by the current Labor government,” Ariana said. “Whether it was seeing the stories of chaos at Caboolture Hospital or issues with youth crime, I knew I wanted to give a voice to our community and work to deliver better outcomes.
“I had connected with members of the LNP during my local community work – whether it was a tree planting day or a trivia night and I found that their values really resonated with me. It was through the party that I met Andrew Powell and became a youth member for Glass House. I found it a great way to meet people online and learn about politics.”
Alongside making our community safer and ensuring we have easier access to health services, Ariana is also very passionate about tourism, protecting native wildlife and their environment. She sees that being in politics is about combining her passions with the ability to advocate and make a positive change through policy.
Q: Many of the people have expressed concern about your age. How do you respond to that?
A: “I think the challenges that Queenslanders are facing right now don’t discriminate based on age – whether it’s soaring power bills, costs of living, trying to deal with the housing crisis or accessing health services, all of us are being impacted by the failures of the current government,” Ariana said. “I bring enthusiasm and energy to this role. I’m excited to have this opportunity to meet as many people as possible, listen to their experiences and advocate for the change we desperately need.
“In terms of political precedent, I’m in good company - Lawrence Springborg, the LNP president, was first elected at 21 and Wyatt Roy was 20 when elected to the federal parliament.”
Q: How do you believe your age and life experiences differentiate you from Ali King?
A: “It's having that energy and enthusiasm that's been sorely lacking,” Ariana said. “I bring a diversity of experience in a range of different sectors. I can pull from that because I've worked in education, the film and television industry and the environmental sector. Importantly, I’m also standing as a candidate for a political party that, unlike the current Labor government, actually has the right priorities for Queenslanders.
“What I can show in my experience is that I’m someone who takes action to deliver a real difference. Whether that’s being part of the Pumicestone Youth Advisory Board or a member of the Bribie Island Environmental Protection Association (BIEPA). I’m not someone who will sit on my hands if a job needs to be done, I’ll jump in with both feet and work to deliver a solution.”
Q: Considering the age gap, how do you plan to connect with and represent the interests of the different demographics?
A: To put the question in perspective for our readers, Pumicestone Electorate has an average age of 52 and Bribie Island has an average age of 63. It represents 40% of the electorate, Caboolture has an average of 38 with Ariana being 22.
“I will go door-to-door and have one-on-one conversations with people across the electorate. People want to be heard and I’m keen to listen and find out what their concerns are,” Ariana said. “What I’m hearing as I talk with people in Bribie are concerns around traffic congestion and access to health services, whereas people in Caboolture are very concerned on crime. The common feedback across the electorate is that people want a local member and a state government, that actually have the right priorities for our area.”
Q: What specific issues do you think are most pressing for the residents of Pumicestone?
A: One of the key concerns is crime. I’ve met people who are scared to leave the house and others who have had to spend money on things like home security cameras and are paying higher insurance premiums because of the increased rates of break-ins and car theft.
“Sadly, as we’ve seen during the last parliament sitting, the Labor government aren’t serious about tackling crime,” Ariana said. “That’s why I’ve started a petition to send the government a message that tackling crime is a priority for our area. If you would like to sign, jump online at www.stoppumicestonecrime.com.au
“As I talk with families, pensioners, retirees and locals right across Pumicestone, everyone is hurting from Labor’s cost of living failures. Rent, insurance, electricity bills, groceries – the costs of everyday basics are all going up under the Labor government.
“Another issue I hear about consistently is people’s concerns about access to health services and the crisis at Caboolture Hospital with some of the worst ambulance ramping times in the nation.
“That’s why the LNP is focusing on the right priorities for Queensland’s future – making our communities safer, delivering easier access to health services, saving you paying for Labor’s failures, securing our housing foundations and working harder for Queenslanders.”
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