Michelle Palmer, candidate for the Informed Medical Options Party, grew up in Ashfield up to the age of 10 before she and her mother and younger sister moved to Mt Druitt.
At the age of 16, I moved out of home to live on the Gulf of Carpentaria for 12 months. Upon my return to Sydney I obtained employment with MSS Security as a conflict resolution officer for six years. This position appealed to my innate ability to negotiate positive outcomes in threatening situations in the field.
Subsequent roles included customer service advisor, apprentice mechanic, elevated work platform trainer, disabilities carer, support worker and 26 years in the health industry promoting nutritional supplements and holistic health awareness, which eventuated in my opening a hypnotherapy clinic in 2019.
My tenacity and passion for seeking the truth have been derived from my life experiences and in my previous roles, together with the recent loss of my home in the 2020 bushfires, which ultimately left me homeless for nine months. In addition to this, two months later, after the fires, a COVID lockdown forced me to close my clinic.
Not only did these experiences push me into self-reflection, but they highlighted the importance of transforming struggles and suffering into teachings on how to best navigate life's journey during challenging times and how necessary it is for the choices we make be of our own.
She lives in the Mid Mountains and has been a member of IMOP for just under a year.