What background experience do you bring to the political table?
I've been covering state and federal politics as a journalist for over a decade, interviewing many of Australia's top politicians including Malcolm Turnbull, Bill Heffernan and Anthony Albanese.
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I'm being mentored in my campaign by Reg Macey, a former Victorian Liberal MP who quit his party when the Liberals abandoned Sir Robert Menzies' dream of “an Australian nation … in which every family is enabled to live in, and preferably to own, a comfortable home at reasonable cost,” as articulated in his 1945 Liberal Party constitution.
This byelection will be the first election that we contest.
What are your main priorities for the Upper Hunter?
Supporting a clean energy industry that utilises the Hunter's abundant resources of sun, wind and open space to export electricity to the rest of the country.
Addressing the cost of living in Australia that is being exacerbating by the high cost of housing. Expensive housing means people have less money to spend in local businesses that would otherwise be boosting jobs.
Upgrading the NBN to Fibre to the Node throughout the region like they have in Armidale would boost local businesses and allow more people across the Upper Hunter to work over the internet from home.
What is your stance on the Scone bypass / railway overpass?
I support the bypass and a railway overpass in town. Traffic in a community like Scone shouldn't still be stopping for trains to pass in 2017. The overpass will potentially facilitate more frequent rail services in the region which would also be bolstered by reopening the rail line north of Armidale.
What is your stance on renewable energy and the balance between mining and agriculture in the region?
Agriculture and aquifers should always come before mining. You can only mine the land once and if it's done wrong you can ruin the water table. Environmental considerations need to be taken very seriously when approving mining projects.
Climate Change is probably the biggest challenge facing the human race and we need to transition to a net zero emissions economy. Australia can achieve this by using a mix of solar, wind, geothermal and tidal power generation using pumped hydro for base load supply.
The longer we leave this issue unaddressed the more it will cost us in the longterm.
What are the top three areas of concern to you in this electorate?
I am very concerned about the allegation that a major local employer is choosing to hire large numbers of overseas temporary visa workers who live in cramped and overcrowded hostel type accommodation when one-in-five locals in New England are struggling to find work.
I would like to see more federal support to encourage new businesses into the region and for existing businesses to expand.
I want the Australian Government to restore proper levels of funding to the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the CSIRO to support the clean economy in New England.
Why should the Upper Hunter vote for you?
My family have deep roots in this part of the country, dating back to when the children of Jonathan Warner sold the land for the town of Warners Bay and moved inland to farm around Boggabri in the 1890s.
It was in Boggabri where the Warners met the Potts.
Some of my happiest childhood memories were formed in New England and I would be proud to represent this region as its local member in the Federal Parliament.
The Government's slim majority will give me a powerful bargaining chip in negotiating a better deal for New England.