Running for ‘new approaches’
We can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results,' says Josh Kirsh.
Jewish Sydneysider Josh Kirsh is attempting to do something that has never been done – be elected to the NSW Legislative Council as an independent.
Kirsh, who until recently was chair of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) Social Justice Committee and has been a deputy since 2018, has just announced his candidacy for the 2027 state election.
The lawyer, public servant, community advocate and volunteer paramedic dispatcher is campaigning on a platform of fresh ideas, accountability and real independence in parliament.
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results,” Kirsh said.
“People are waiting hours for ambulances, communities are feeling unsafe and leadership paralysis has left too many behind. I’m running to bring new approaches, to listen to communities and to make government work faster and better for everyone.”
Kirsh’s policy priorities include increasing funding for integrated mental health services, revitalising the night-time economy, creating a NSW Climate Corps to reshape the grid, and ensuring an 85 per cent literacy rate by 2035.
“The major parties will always dominate the Legislative Council. What we need are qualified, truly independent members to hold them accountable and deliver real change,” Kirsh said.
Asked how his involvement with JBD may be good preparation for a political career, Kirsh said he recognised “the serious complexity of the political system and the way it can be difficult to get results, but also knowing we can achieve things that are important when we set out to make change based on our values”.
He also acknowledged “the ways that antisemitism can hold us back but also motivate us to keep fighting for what’s important”.
Kirsh emphasised his independence would allow him to focus on “listening, problem-solving and delivering real outcomes” rather than serving party politics.
“No independent has ever been elected to the NSW Upper House in their own right,” he said.
“I’m putting my own name and face to this campaign because I want to be directly accountable to the people of NSW, not to a party machine.”
Kirsh said he was committed to travelling across NSW during the campaign to hear from communities who feel unheard, from cities to regional towns.
“Representation should mean exactly that: hearing from as many voices as possible, not just the loudest or the closest to Sydney,” he said.
Kirsh has also been a YouthHEAR director for four years and was president of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) in 2020.