Erchana is a proud Burleigh local and world-record holding marathon runner and change-maker. In 2022 she made history and inspired audiences across the world by running 150 marathons over 150 consecutive days from Cape York to Melbourne to raise vital funds for Australia’s endangered wildlife. Now, she’s taking that passion, motivation and energy to another start line by running for the southern Gold Coast seat of McPherson. Erchana is also a small business owner, having founded a nutrition, run-coaching and strength business that is Australia-wide.

Erchana is running as our community independent candidate because she believes in putting the community first, not party politics. She is passionate about addressing issues that directly impact the people of McPherson—such as the cost of living pressures, housing, environmental protection, small business support, and better healthcare. With a background in endurance sports and advocacy, she understands the power of persistence and community-driven change. She wants to bring integrity, accountability, and real representation to Canberra.

Erchana will act for us, the people of the southern Gold Coast. She will be answerable only to her community, not party bosses in Canberra.

McPherson has been a safe major party seat for decades. As a result, we have been taken for granted and we often miss out on our fair share when it comes to funding things that our community needs. But with the incumbent Liberal member retiring this election, our southern Gold Coast community has a great opportunity for a fresh start and independent representation.

The major parties have let us down when it comes to the big issues that people care about like housing affordability, cost of living, climate action and protecting our environment - they are caught up with party politics and protecting their corporate donors rather than championing the needs of their communities. As an independent, Erchana will be a strong advocate to get a better deal for southern Gold Coasters.

Party politics is not working for us. We have been ignored by the major parties for decades. As an independent, Erchana is not held back by "party politics" or bound to toe the party line.

Erchana is focused on getting a better deal for our southern Gold Coast community. She is not told how to vote by party bosses - she will vote in line with our community. Erchana’s priority is putting the Gold Coast first.

So much! Independents only focus on what their electorate needs, rather than playing party games. They hold the major parties accountable, make improvements to legislation, and make sure issues of integrity and transparency are brought to light. An independent MP is never in opposition – they can work with either side of politics to make sure their community is represented. 

Here are just some examples:

Helen Haines, Independent MP for Indi:

• Secured tens of millions of dollars for road upgrades and pothole fixes 
• Millions of dollars invested in her regional economy 
• Investment in community batteries and microgrids to lower power bills and provide energy security
• Introduced Unlocking Regional Housing Bill to guarantee dedicated funding for enabling infrastructure in rural, regional and remote Australia.
• Introduced legislation for an Independent Commission Against Corruption which was ultimately adopted (neither major party would have done this without pressure from independents) 

Andrew Wilkie, Independent MP for Clark 

• $340m for new hospital in his electorate 
• Poker Machine Reform: achieved significant changes in gambling laws to reduce harm caused by poker machines. 
• Health and Infrastructure: Secured federal funding for health services and infrastructure in Hobart. 

Cathy McGowan, former Independent MP for Indi

• 50 new mobile phone towers in telecommunications blackspots 
• Advocated and secured state funding for the Wangaratta Hospital Upgrade
• Established the Future Drought fund resulting in at least $20m a year for drought preparedness
• Secured funding for the North East Rail Line 

Zali Steggall, Independent MP for Warringah 

• Helped her community apply for and receive grants totalling over $133 million, including $7 million in funding for the Manly Warringah Gymnastics
• Introduced legislation to stop the lies in political advertising.
• Secured amendments to the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Act to improve national environmental standards and protections 

Monique Ryan, Independent MP for Kooyong 

• Succeeded in having $3 billion of student debt wiped and secured significant reforms to the HECS system to make indexing fairer.
• Introduced the “Clean Up Politics Act” to improve transparency around lobbying of members of parliament.

David Pocock, Independent Senator for ACT 

• Introduced the “Duty of Care Bill” to require that politicians and policy makers have a duty of care to young people and future generations. 
• Strengthened Aged Care Bill to provide better care for older Australians
• Secured important amendments to strengthen Climate Change legislation 
• Continues to advocate strongly for housing affordability and social equity issues.

Erchana’s policies are shaped by listening to the people of McPherson. She is committed to extensive community consultation, engaging with experts, and using evidence-based research to develop solutions. Her priorities are guided by what matters most to local residents, ensuring that policy decisions are transparent, practical, and beneficial to the electorate.

You can have your say and help shape the future of the Gold Coast through one of our survey’s here: https://www.erchana4mcpherson.com/surveys

It’s up to each individual voter to choose who they give their preferences to.

We ask that you put a 1 next to Erchana’s name, and then number the rest of the candidates according to how they align with your values. 

Erchana’s how-to-vote card will simply say ‘Vote 1 Erchana Murray-Bartlett’ and ‘number every box according to YOUR preference.’ You must number every box for your vote to count.

A hung parliament puts our Gold Coast community in the centre. 

Erchana will consider every piece of legislation on its merits. As an independent, she can work with all sides of politics to get the best outcome for our community. The only thing that will guide her vote are her conscience and what's in the best interests of the people of McPherson.

This community independent campaign is funded by hundreds and supported by many more individuals across the Gold Coast and beyond, because they want to see better representation, and better outcomes for our electorate.

On April 6th, Erchana ran (literally) the entire perimeter of McPherson, raising funds for our campaign. The over 100km journey was a fun and innovative way to bring support into this campaign, also showing off the beauty of the coast.

We have also been proud to receive funding from Climate 200, which is a crowdfunding organisation with over 40,000 thousand supporters from every electorate in the country, including locally, who want to see strong action on climate, restoring integrity in politics and gender equity.

The media constructed the term ‘Teal’ to group together the movement of community backed independents in Australia. I’m independent and I represent the views and unique issues of the people of McPherson. You’ll find the community backed independent movements across Australia share similar values of integrity, care for our climate and environment, support for diverse communities and people who are fed up with the two-party system which is simply not delivering for communities like ours on the Gold Coast.

While I admire what these independents have achieved, my campaign is uniquely focused on McPherson’s specific needs. Our Gold Coast community deserves a representative who answers only to the people who live here.