Michael Hugh Pettersson (born 1991) is an Australian politician. He has been a Member of the

Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...

since 2016 when he was elected as the Labor Party representative for the newly formed electorate of Yerrabi.

Early life and career

Pettersson was raised in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and studied at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. During this time he became involved in

student politics Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

, serving as the ACT Branch President of the National Union of Students and President of the ANU Sport & Recreation Association. He also served as President of ACT Young Labor. After graduating, he worked as a trade unionist for the

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...

Political career

Pettersson contested the seat of Yerrabi in the

2016 ACT election A general election for the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly was held on Saturday, 15 October 2016. The 15-year incumbent Labor Party, led by Chief Minister Andrew Barr, won a fifth term over the main opposition Liberal Party, ...

and received 4,817 primary votes or 0.6 of a quota. In the campaign, he drew attention for his creative use of social media. He was elected in third position in the five member Yerrabi electorate behind

Meegan Fitzharris Meegan Fitzharris (born 1972) is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for the Yerrabi electorate from October 2016 to July 2019, and before that, member for the electorate of ...

and

Alistair Coe Alistair Bruce Coe (born 9 January 1984) is an Australian politician and a former leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). He was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly from 2008 to 2 ...

. In the 2020 ACT election, Pettersson was elected second behind former Liberal Leader,

, with 5,084 votes. He is currently the Chair of the Standing Committee for Education and Community Inclusion, the Deputy Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and a member of the Health and Community Wellbeing Committee. In Pettersson's inaugural speech he highlighted growing intergenerational inequality, the importance of education, and the dangers of casualisation in the workforce. Pettersson has campaigned for more light rail services and the expansion of the popular Canberra e-scooters to his electorate of Yerrabi. In April 2021, Pettersson put forward a motion calling on the ACT Government to improve the facilities at Yerrabi Pond following the ACT Legislative Assembly e-petition he sponsored, which gained cross-party support. Pettersson is a member of the Labor Left faction.

Cannabis legalisation

In September 2018, Pettersson introduced a historic bill to legalise the possession and personal use of small amounts of cannabis in the ACT. This Bill was passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly on the 25th of September 2019, making the ACT the first jurisdiction to legalise cannabis in Australia.

Drug decriminalisation

In February 2021, Pettersson introduced a bill into the ACT Legislative Assembly to decriminalise small quantities of some drugs. Under this proposed legislation certain drugs such as MDMA, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin would be decriminalised in small quantities for personal use and possession. The Legislative Assembly is currently undertaking an Inquiry into the Bill which will be reported on in October 2021.

Personal life

One of Pettersson's hobbies is

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

. He became the first politician to play in the 25th

Chess Open in

. Pettersson also enjoys

mountain biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and the US TV Show '

Survivor Survivor(s) may refer to: Actual survivors * *Last survivors of historical events Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Survivors, characters in the 1997 ''KKnD'' video-game series * ''The Survivors'', or the ''New Survivors Found ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pettersson, Michael 1991 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian politicians