Julian Burnside will run as the Greens candidate in the seat of Kooyong against Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Credit:Jason South
A longstanding advocate for human rights and asylum seekers,Mr Burnside is going back on his previous vow to stay out of politics after decades of involvement in the law.
"I've always said I wouldn't go into politics.'Don't wrestle with a pig,'the saying goes,'because you both get covered in mud and the pig loves it',"he writes in an explanation for his decision.
"But I am breaking that vow,because our political system is broken. I have been a critic for too long:it's time to throw my hat in the ring."
Mr Burnside,who acted pro bono for asylum seekers attempting to get to Australia on the Tampa before the 2001 federal election,has been a longtime subject of scorn from the federal government's conservative supporters.
He tweeted this week that he expected Prime Minister Scott Morrison to send a"whisper"to the Royal Australian Navy to let some asylum seeker boats through before the election to"terrify the nation".
His entry into the contest for Kooyong is a significant challenge for another candidate,Oliver Yates,a former Liberal Party member and the former chief executive of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
While Mr Yates is running as an independent with an emphasis on policies to tackle climate change,Mr Burnside will have the advantage of Greens volunteers in an electorate with a high level of concern about the environment and asylum seekers.