Katrina Wark will contest the seat of Newcastle for the Liberal Party in the May federal election.
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The mother of seven will challenge incumbent Labor MP Sharon Claydon who holds the seat with a 9.4 per cent margin.
"I'm not daunted in the least about running against Labor in Newcastle," Ms Wark, who works at the John Hunter Hospital as a cardiothoracic nurse, said.
"Labor has held the seat since Federation and what have we got to show for it? We need to show that the people of Newcastle are not going to be taken for granted anymore."
A first-time candidate, Ms Wark said one of her first priorities would be to establish a community reference group consisting of a diverse group of stakeholders that would be charged with formulating a 30-year vision for the city.
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A major component of the group's work would be to identify infrastructure priorities for the city and region.
"I will fight hard to ensure our region gets its fair share of infrastructure investment," Ms Wark said.
"I am passionate about this community and am looking forward to securing investment in Newcastle's future."
Among the projects that Ms Wark would like to see built with the assistance of federal government funding is a convention centre on Dyke Point in Newcastle Harbour.
"Combined with cafes and restaurants this would generate about 3000 jobs in the city," she said.
"These sorts of projects simply will not happen unless the seat changes hands."
Ms Wark said she would also lobby for federal government funding for a container terminal in Newcastle as well for additional funding to fix erosion problems on Stockton Beach.
The Elermore Vale resident is the first Hunter Liberal candidate announced for the federal election.
It comes as the party's Hunter branch dusts itself off after a disappointing state campaign where four of the party's five candidates were gagged from speaking to the media.
In addition the party is still reeling from the fallout of a scandal involving fake Facebook accounts in the seat of Port Stephens.
Facebook took the extraordinary step of cancelling seven accounts after an investigation revealed they violated Facebook's terms of use.
Tasman Brown, a staff member of Hunter duty MLC Catherine Cusack, was stood down as a volunteer on Liberal candidate Jaimie Abbott's campaign after Facebook identified him as being connected to the fake accounts.
Ms Wark said she believed the electorate would differentiate between the state and federal campaigns.
"I am a proud Novocastrian and have served our community in health services for decades," Mrs Wark said.
"Building a stronger economy is the key. Our plan is to deliver tax relief so the people of Newcastle keep more of what they earn. We're backing small and family businesses and supporting local jobs.
"A stronger economy also means the Liberal Government is placed to deliver record federal funding for public hospital services and billions more funding for Medicare. I am proud of our commitment to health infrastructure and ensuring all Australians can access the very best in healthcare.
Ms Wark has also assisted the John Hunter Children's Hospital to raise funds for the Hunter Medical Research Institute. In 2017 she set up the Newcastle Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise funds for local patients.