Seventh-day Adventist Desley Scott was elected last month as a member of Queensland’s Legislative Assembly.  Receiving more than 57 percent of the primary vote, Scott’s election is the culmination of 16 years working with and for the people of her local community, Woodbridge. 

Scott, 57, describes politics as “a form of social work meeting people’s needs as they come to you which I really enjoy.”  Scott calls being a member of parliament “an awesome responsibility” and was initially unsure how it would fit with her faith.  When asked by Peter Beattie, the state premier, to be the candidate for Woodbridge, Scott replied that “it wasn’t really my thing—I was just a mom who went to the church down the road.” 

Scott sees her new role as an opportunity to be involved in her community in many ways compatible with practical Christianity.  “As a church, we tend to try to stay away from controversial issues,” she says.  “But I think we shouldn’t be afraid to move into the wider community.”  She plans to focus on the needs in her electorate: unemployment, public housing, crime, drugs, domestic violence and transport difficulties.

Scott, who joined the Adventist Church in her mid-teens, is a member of the Cornerstone Adventist Church in Brisbane, Queensland.