Labor’s candidate for Ballina is hoping her experience bringing people together through music will help her strike the right chord with voters at next year’s State Election.

Janet Swain, a Byron Shire councillor, musician, songwriter and former teacher, officially launched her campaign late last week, supported by senior Labor figures including NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib and Federal MP Justine Elliot.

But politics was never part of her original career plan.

“No way! No way! I would never have imagined I’d be doing this,” she told Ballina News Daily.

The Sydney-born mother of two has spent much of her working life establishing community choirs, teaching music and bringing people together through song.

She has lived in Singapore and Kuwait, raised two children as a single mother and eventually settled in the Byron Shire about 12 years ago to be closer to family.

Now she is seeking to make the leap from local government to Macquarie Street.

“I believe in people’s voices,” she said.

“All my work has been about bringing people together, all sorts of people.”

Her latest musical venture has brought her into the Ballina Concert Band, where she plays bassoon alongside people with vastly different political views.

“It’s a real cross section of the Ballina population,” she said, describing band members whose political loyalties range from One Nation to the Greens.

“It’s a wonderful cross section of the community and totally unpretentious. It’s just a great place to be.”

And regardless of their politics, they can all play music together.

“We all play Empire Strikes Back together,” she laughed.

Planning puts Labor candidate in difficult position

Ms Swain could find herself on a collision course with her own party over the Minns Government’s controversial planning reforms.

Speaking shortly after Byron Shire Council debated the issue at its monthly meeting, she expressed concern about major developments potentially bypassing local planning controls.

Two large projects proposed for Jonson Street in Byron Bay could reach almost twice the town’s existing 11.5-metre height limit by using State Government fast-track planning pathways.

“We have got a housing emergency,” she acknowledged, but argued that new development must respect Byron’s character and the wishes of its community.

She supports an exemption or special arrangements allowing councils to retain a meaningful say over major developments, rather than having decisions taken entirely out of their hands.

As a Labor candidate, she believes she would be better placed to take those concerns directly to ministers in Sydney.

“That is the sort of thing that I can, as a Labor person, actually take into the room in Sydney and really advocate for what people want in Byron,” she said.

Hospital tops the priority list

While Ms Swain’s background is largely in the arts and education, she says her campaign is increasingly focused on the practical concerns of Ballina and Byron residents.

At the top of the list is Ballina District Hospital.

“Everybody’s talking to me about Ballina Hospital,” she said.

“It’s something people have been trying to get fixed for a long time, and it just hasn’t happened.”

She believes the hospital needs to be expanded and made fit for purpose, with improved access during floods and better mental health services.

Ms Swain also wants to investigate the case for an ambulance service based at Alstonville as the plateau population continues to grow.

Another priority is improving the health of the Richmond River, pointing to State Government funding for a coordinator to bring together organisations and communities involved in its restoration.

Hoping to bring Premier to Ballina

Above: Janet Swain at Ballina hospital.

Main image: Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib was guest of honour at Ms Swain’s campaign launch. (Images supplied)

Ms Swain is hoping to persuade Premier Chris Minns to visit the electorate during the campaign and is already organising appearances by senior government figures.

Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib officiated at her campaign launch at a Lebanese cafe in North Ocean Shores last Friday, while Federal MP Justine Elliot and Sydney Labor MP Jo Haylen were also among those attending.

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe is expected to visit in December for a campaign event.

Ms Swain says she would welcome the opportunity to work closely with neighbouring Labor MP Janelle Saffin, whom she regards as a political role model.

“Janelle is my pinup,” she said.

“She’s a politician who listens and works with everybody.”

While thanking retiring Greens MP Tamara Smith for her 12 years representing Ballina, Ms Swain argues there are limits to what an MP outside government can achieve.

She believes the electorate would benefit from having a representative who can take local concerns directly to government ministers.

Ms Swain acknowledges she is better known in Byron Shire than Ballina, something she is determined to change.

She will contest the March 2027 election against Greens candidate Mandy Nolan, Nationals candidate Michelle Bailey and independent Ballina Mayor Sharon Cadwallader.