AMA: I’m Monique Ryan MP, Independent for Kooyong. Ask MeAnything.

Hi all, I'm Monique Ryan, the Independent MP for Kooyong.

I'm a member of the House of Representatives in the Federal Parliament. I was first elected in 2022 and re-elected in 2025.

I'm probably best known for my successful campaign to fix HECS. Following a petition I put together that surpassed 288,000 signatures, the government decided to wipe 20% of all HECS debts. Earlier this year, I also led the Medical Research Matters campaign to unlock additional funding through the Medical Research Future Fund. On Budget night, we were successful, with the government announcing an additional $500million for medical research.

Apart from those policy wins, I'm also a strong advocate across a range of other issues, including action on climate change, the cost of living, the NDIS, aged care reform, gambling reform and restoring integrity in politics.

As an Independent, I'm not bound by party lines. Instead, I listen to my community and policy experts when I go to vote on legislation. Since becoming Kooyong's Independent MP, my team and I have held 272 community events, assisted constituents with over 19,000 different matters, responded to over 43,000 emails and have created a volunteer base of over 2,000 people.

I'll be online from 6:00pm tonight to answer your questions.