Jo Clay
Jo Clay | |
|---|---|
Clay in 2024 | |
| Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Ginninderra | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Gordon Ramsay |
| Deputy Leader of the ACT Greens | |
| Assumed office 19 December 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Rebecca Vassarotti |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1977 (age 48–49) |
| Party | ACT Greens |
| Alma mater | University of Wollongong (LLB) |
| Committees |
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| Portfolio |
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Jo T. Clay (born 1977)[1] is an Australian politician currently serving as a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Ginninderra and the deputy leader of the ACT Greens.[2]
Early life and career
Clay grew up in Canberra and attended Weetangera Primary and Radford College in Canberra.[3][4] She went on to complete a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Creative Arts at the University of Wollongong and a year on exchange at University of Colorado, Boulder.[5][6]
Clay was a writer in the 2000s and early 2010s, developing and publishing the RomZomCom A Single Girl's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse which won Marion's Olvar Wood Fellowship Award.[7][6]
Prior to entering politics, Clay worked in various companies focused on improving the environment, including setting up Send and Shred, a company that recycles shredded documents, and The Carbon Diet about reducing her carbon footprint.[8]
Political career
First Term
At the 2020 Australian Capital Territory election Clay won one of the five seats in Ginninderra, unseating Labor MLA Gordon Ramsay.[9]
During that term, Clay was responsible for the spokesperson portfolios of Transport, Active Travel, Parks and Conservation, Animal Welfare, Arts and Culture, Circular Economy, Science, and Women.[10]
Second term
Clay retained her seat at the 2024 election. Following the election, she nominated for the position of ACT Greens after Rebecca Vassarotti, the incumbent Deputy Leader, lost her seat. Clay was elected by a ballot of the party general membership, running unopposed but still requiring a majority support vote to take office.[11]
Clay is responsible for the spokesperson portfolios of Planning & Urban Renewal, Environment, Circular Economy & Waste, Arts & the Nighttime Economy, Animal Welfare, Heritage, and Finance.[12]
Key advocacy and achievements
Climate and environment
Clay has been a tireless advocate for Climate and the Environment. [13]
In 2021 she compelled the ACT Government to sign the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty,[14] with all Greens MLAs and Ministers Barr, Berry, Cheyne and Steel from Labor also signing in their own right. Notably, following the 2024 election, new Minister for Climate Change Suzanne Orr did not sign the treaty.[15]
Fossil Fuel Ad Ban
In 2024 Clay introduced a bill that would ban fossil fuel companies from advertising in ACT Government owned sports facilities. Senator David Pocock welcomed the bill but Labor refused to support it. [16]
City Limits
Bluetts Block
After years of campaigning by community groups Friends of Bluetts Block and Clay, in 2025 the ACT Government amended the Territory Plan to designate Bluetts Block as a nature reserve.
Clay welcomed this win for the community but wanted to further protect the western edge so brought a motion to the ACT Legislative Assembly, which was passed, calling on the ACT Government to set an urban growth boundary this term of government, setting a hard edge on Canberra’s urban sprawl. [17][18][19][20]
Dragons
Clay has campaigned against developments that push the critically endangered Canberra Grasslands Earless Dragons further towards extinction. The species which is at risk of becoming Australia's first mainland extinction since colonisation. One of Federal Environment Minister Watt’s first actions after being re-elected in 2025 was to approve a road destroying Canberra Grasslands Earless Dragon habitat. The Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment has announced an inquiry into this decision. [21][22][23][24]
Local issues
Belco Busway
In 2023 Clay worked with Liberal MLA Mark Parton to pass a motion urging the government to undertake a feasibility study to complete the Belconnen transitway. [25]
Belconnen school
Clay has long lobbied the ACT government to commit to building a new school for the rapidly developing Belconnen Town Centre, which is located in her electorate of Ginninderra. [26]
In May 2024 she secured tri-partisan commitment to her parliamentary motion for a new primary and secondary school for the Belconnen Town Centre.[27] . The ACT Labor Government has yet to deliver the school.
Freestanding Birth Centre
In 2023 Clay tabled a petition of over 3000 signatures calling for a Freestanding Birth Centre for Canberra and secured government commitment to undertake a feasibility study.[28] Following the study, it has been announced that there will be an alongside birth centre as part of the new Northside Hospital.[29]
Big Splash
In 2024-2025 Clay led a community campaign to save local water park, Big Splash. She sponsored a petition calling on the government to keep the facility open for the summer and guarantee that the zoning would remain recreational.[30]
In May 2025, Clay moved a private member’s motion which passed unanimously committing the government to not rezone the site and for the site to remain zoned for community recreation.[31][32]
Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Single Girl's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse | Hachette Queensland Writers Centre Manuscript Development Award | Won | [6] |
| 2010 | Olvar Wood Fellowship Award | Won | ||
| 2019 | Send and Shred | Australian Information Industry Association Merit iAward | Won | [33] |
References
- ^ "Jo Clay". smartvote Australia. Australian National University.
- ^ "2020 ACT election: Jo Clay interview". 2 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ Clay, Jo (14 January 2026). "Jo Clay, Candidate for Ginninderra". greens.org.au. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- ^ "Jo Clay – Radford Collegians' Association". radfordcollegians.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Jo Clay". linkedin.com. Jo Clay. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Cerabona, Ron (17 June 2019). "Zombie love turns to humour". Canberra Times. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ "Olvar Wood Fellowship Award". marion.ink. MARION. Archived from the original on 30 November 2025.
- ^ "Jo Clay | ACT Greens". The ACT Greens. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "ACT Election 2020 Results - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Jo Clay Member for Ginninderra". greens.org.au/act. ACT Greens. Archived from the original on 11 March 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "Jo Clay elected Deputy Leader of ACT Greens". Region. 19 December 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ "Jo Clay Deputy Leader of the ACT Greens & Member for Ginninderra". greens.org.au/act. ACT Greens. Archived from the original on 21 June 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2025.
- ^ Twyford, Lottie. "How parenthood led Jo Clay MLA to stop running from climate change and start fighting it". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "ACT endorses fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty". www.canberratimes.com.au. 2 June 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Parliamentarians Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Future | Join the Movement Today". Parliamentarians Call for a Fossil Fuel Free Future. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "'Labor is timid': Greens, Pocock ramp up bid to ban Canberra sport fossil fuel ads". www.canberratimes.com.au. 5 February 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Wensing, Dr Ed (27 April 2025). "Placing a limit on Canberra's urban sprawl?". Planning Institute Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Copland, Simon (16 April 2025). "Big news! The ACT Announces a Hard Edge to Canberra's Urban Development". Conservation Council ACT Region. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "ACT agrees to set hard limit on Canberra's future urban sprawl". www.canberratimes.com.au. 10 April 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Coleman, James. "Years of campaigning has given the ACT a new nature reserve, but does it go far enough?". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Schuster, Grit (7 August 2025). "Australian Labor Government approves northern airport road, destroying vital habitat of Canberra's very own lizard". Conservation Council ACT Region. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Coleman, James. "Environmentalists accuse Canberra Airport of sneaking through new road construction". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Plan to bring Australia's 'most endangered reptile species' back from the brink". ABC News. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Independent investigation launched into the future of the Canberra Grassland Earless Dragon | ACT Greens". greens.org.au. 19 November 2025. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
- ^ Fenwicke, Claire. "Long-awaited Belconnen Transitway given three year deadline to become reality". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "Greens Urge Renewed Pledge to Belconnen Town Centre School". Mirage News. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "GREENS WIN NEW SCHOOL FOR BELCONNEN TOWN CENTRE | ACT Greens". greens.org.au. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Fuller, Nicholas (8 February 2023). "Canberra will have a freestanding birth centre". Canberra Daily. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Bushnell, Ian. "Government to build standalone birth centre on new Northside Hospital campus". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Coleman, James. "'We need something to happen here': Greens push government to bring back Big Splash". Region Canberra. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Reporters, Staff (12 May 2025). "ACT Greens to government: 'open Big Splash this summer'". www.canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ "13 May 2025 - Motion on Big Splash". Thomas Emerson MLA. Retrieved 11 January 2026.
- ^ Clay, Jo (22 May 2019). "AIIA Merit iAward". Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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