Elouise Massa, a Sydney mother, is running as an independent for the Manly seat in the upcoming NSW election, after the incumbent James Griffin announced he would not recontest. Massa has a high profile in the community due to her successful campaign to transfer Northern Beaches Hospital into public hands following the death of her son Joe in 2024. She plans to advocate for environmental issues, equality, and integrity in parliament. The Liberal Party is facing a challenge as they have yet to announce their candidate to replace Griffin, who held the seat for almost 20 years.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Elouise Massa, a mother from Sydney, has announced that she will run as an independent candidate for the Manly seat at the upcoming NSW state election. This decision comes after incumbent Liberal MP James Griffin revealed he would not contest the seat. Massa gained a high profile in her community after successfully campaigning to transfer Northern Beaches Hospital into the public system following the death of her two-year-old son Joe, who had been treated at the hospital with multiple failures identified in his care. The family's campaign also led to the introduction of "Joe's Law", which prohibits future public-private partnerships in major hospitals, and a new system for families to escalate concerns over their child's care. Massa is seen as a strong advocate for her community, particularly on issues related to healthcare services. The NSW election is scheduled to take place in March next year.
Written for “Sydney Hospital Protest” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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Creating meaningful change has become a vocation.
left implies that the incumbent party is not effective
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It's my way of saying thank you to our community for backing [my husband] Danny and me through our campaigns.
left suggests that the community supports her, implying a criticism of the Liberal Party
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This is how I want to keep going, by listening, discerning, and taking our community's voice to parliament.
left emphasizes community involvement and implies that the Liberal Party does not represent the community
Leaning score -0.35 for article 6567 (high confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-07
In short:
Elouise Massa says she will run as an independent for Manly at the upcoming state election, after incumbent James Griffin revealed he would not contest the seat.
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he → say → seat
Ms Massa successfully campaigned to transfer Northern Beaches Hospital into the public system after the death of her son Joe.
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Massa → campaign → son
The NSW election will be held in March next year.
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election → hold → March
Kellie Sloane and the NSW Liberals face a fresh challenge ahead of the March election, with Elouise Massa announcing she will contest the seat of Manly as an independent.
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she → face → independent
It comes just days after Liberal frontbencher James Griffin revealed he would not recontest the northern beaches seat.
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he → come → seat
Ms Massa already has a high profile in the community, having successfully spearheaded a campaign to transfer Northern Beaches Hospital to public hands, following the death of her son Joe in 2024.
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Massa → have → 2024
A review identified multiple failures in the two-year-old's treatment and the Massa family's campaign also resulted in a new system by which families can escalate concerns over a child's care.
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families → identify → care
It also led to "Joe's Law" which bans future public-private partnerships in major hospitals.
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which → lead → hospitals
Ms Massa said her family's campaign had shown her what can happen when "courage in the community is met by people in government who genuinely listen and act".
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who → say → government
"I am not the same person I was before Joe died,"she said.
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Joe → say → ?
"Creating meaningful change has become a vocation.
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Creating → create → change
"It's my way of saying thank you to our community for backing [my husband] Danny and me through our campaigns."
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It → say → campaigns
The former journalist from North Balgowlah said people have stopped her in the street and told her to "keep going".
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people → say → her
"This is how I want to keep going, by listening, discerning, and taking our community's voice to parliament."
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I → want → parliament
Ms Massa said she planned to advocate for the environment, equality and integrity in NSW parliament.
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she → say → parliament
"Over the past two years we have saved lives and the reforms we have driven within government because I'm a strong community advocate, [who] is going to continue to make change," she said.
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she → save → change
Liberals risk losing more territory
The seat of Manly has been held by The Liberal Party for almost 20 years, after it was won by former premier Mike Baird.
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it → risk → Baird
However, between 1991 and 2007 it was held by independent MPs — first Peter Macdonald and then David Barr.
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it → hold → MPs
At a federal level, the Manly area is represented by teal independent Zali Steggall, who unseated former prime minister Tony Abbott in the seat of Warringah in 2019.
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who → represent → 2019
The Liberals are yet to announce their candidate to replace Mr Griffin in Manly, but the party is expected to campaign hard to keep a foothold on the northern beaches.
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party → announce → beaches
In 2024, independent Jacqui Scruby won the seat of Pittwater from the Liberals in a by-election.
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Scruby → win → election
A year earlier, independent Michael Regan won the seat of Wakehurst in the general election.
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Regan → win → election
Ms Massa said an independent would better serve the needs of the community, vowing to campaign on issues like healthcare, housing and transport.
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independent → say → healthcare
"I've seen what happens when nobody is held accountable and I've seen what can happen when a community demands better,"she said.
"
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community → see → ?
I'm running because the Member for Manly should answer to the people who live here, not to a party room."
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who → run → room
Health Minister Ryan Park said he has known Ms Massa for a number of years and she would make "a fine member of parliament".
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she → say → parliament
"She has shown to be a terrific advocate under the most difficult of circumstances," he said.
"She cares deeply about community, she cares deeply about things like healthcare services, and I wish her all the best."
When asked if NSW Labor would consider working with her, he said it would be "a very difficult seat for us to win".
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us → show → her