The Australian Women's Register

Describing herself as ‘the chick from Charny’ in her first speech in the ACT Legislative Assembly on 3 December 2020, Leanne Castley prides herself on the values of hard work and preparedness to ‘have a go’ that have characterised her life, both before politics and in the political sphere.

Born in 1974, Leanne is a proud single mother-of-two, country music singer and lover of cars, motorbikes and engines. She has lived in Canberra since she was five years old, and was educated at Flynn Primary School, Charnwood High School and Copland College.

A keen advocate for small business, Leanne’s first full-time job was as an accounts clerk at Gerald Slaven Holden and, with her former husband, she later operated three car yards, employing five staff. These ventures were successful for a time, but fell victim to the global financial crisis, as did Leanne’s marriage. A long career in IT followed. Leanne also gained a Diploma in Project Management, and took positions at the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Defence, managing teams of up to 10 people.

She was encouraged by the ACT Liberal Party to contest the October 2020 election for the electorate of Yerrabi, and was thrilled and humbled to be elected. Leanne set out her goals as the Member for Yerrabi in the ACT Legislative Assembly in her inaugural speech on 3 December 2020:

‘The issues, views and aspirations of my electorate, that’s what matters to me. Yerrabi residents and families do not want politicians telling them what to do. They can do that perfectly well on their own. But they do want politicians to be honest, to listen and to fix problems. I assure the good folk in my electorate that my two feet will stay firmly planted in Gungahlin soil. I am the chick from Charny and I don’t want to lose that. That’s who I am.’