A big shout out and thankyou to all those people who have asked questions on my FaceBook and Messenger pages. Because there were some common themes, I have put together the following Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Please keep your questions coming!
I will update this page as needed. The FAQs are in no particular order.
Where can I read about your policies?
I will advocate for positive change on issues the community have identified is important to them. I’m interested in representing the community, basing my decisions on reliable evidence. I want to see politicans work collaboratively to achieve good outcomes for Tasmanians. I want to see respect, honesty and integrity in parliament.
I have those priority issues identified by the community that if elected as an independent I will advocate for any measures that address those issues and result in positive outcomes for the community. For example:
- the reintroduction of bulk billing
- the establishment of more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
- better accessibility to GPs and Specialists
- Access to mental health services
I will also push for more localised concerns – for example in communities like the Tasman Peninsula where they need better internet and mobile phone coverage – and potable water!
I have real concerns around policy-making, and our very weak environmental laws and recent events which show that due process and robust decision making is being circumvented by legislative change hastily pushed through.
Where do you sit on the political spectrum?
Previously I would have answered the centre but the more I have thought about it–the line is based on an old paradigm of the two major party values dominant system which is changing with minority government and the rise of independents such that the line analogy no longer applies. I will advocate for positive change on issues the community have identified is important to them. And, of course, I am not held captive by any powerful vested interests.
Is a vote for an independent or minor party candidate a wasted vote?
From Kevin Bonham’s Blog: The idea that voting for minor parties or independents that won’t get in or form government is a “wasted vote” is an evil and pervasive myth smuggled in from bad voting systems where it’s actually true (like first past the post used in other Countries). Some major party supporters spread this myth, including in Hare-Clark, to try to scare voters off voting for anyone else. In Tasmanian elections if you vote for a candidate who is not elected, your vote flows at full value to the next on your list and so on. You can’t waste your primary vote except by not casting a formal vote – but you can waste your preferencing power by stopping early. If your vote only numbers a limited number of candidates then once all those are excluded or elected, your vote might hit the exhaust pile and be a spectator for all the remaining choices. If the candidate you like the most is from a minor party or is an independent, ignore anyone who tells you voting for that person is a “wasted vote”. They’re wrong.
Who will your preferences go to in Lyons?
State Elections: The Hare-Clark voting system is a type of proportional representation used in Tasmania and the ACT. Instead of voting for just one candidate, voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference. This system ensures that seats in Parliament are allocated more fairly, reflecting the diversity of voter support across the electorate.
There are 35 candidates for Lyons. Seven are to be be elected. There are no how-to-vote cards. Your preferences go only where you send them. There is no such thing as your candidate giving preferences to other candidates.
Federal Elections: Our system of voting for HoR elections is full preferential. This means a voter (you and I) must indicate a preference for ALL candidates on the ballot paper. Firstly all of the number “1” formal preference votes are counted for each candidate. If no candidate has an absolute majority of formal first votes then a full distribution of preferences takes place. The candidate that has received the fewest first preference votes is excluded and all of their ballot papers are transferred to continuing candidates and so on until a single candidate has an absolute majority (more than 50% of the formal votes) and is elected.
What this means is that YOU decide where you want YOUR preferences to go according to who YOU want to see elected.
It is your vote I won’t be telling you who to vote for.
What are your thoughts on opening more native forest up for logging?
I don’t support old growth forest logging and I am against overturning the working Forest Peace Agreement. I am looking into the more complicated (than I at first thought) regrowth native forest logging issue.
What is your stance on the proposed AFL stadium in Hobart?
I am really concerned about the debt per capita (second only to Victoria) and the systemic problems in state tasked basic and essential service delivery in the areas of :
1. Health
2. Housing
3. Education
4. Public transport
So, In light of the states debt and deficit and the need for structural reform in Tasmania’s health and education systems I cannot support the stadium at this point in time.
I have additional concerns over the fact that a professional sporting code, the AFL, have dictated the terms for Tasmania to have an AFL team be bound to a roofed stadium at Mac Pt and that there appears to be little consultation, transparency and accountability around this deal. Currently the state government is indicating that it will push legislation through circumventing the current planning process which will take out public feedback- very poor policy making.
I am very interested in the outcomes of the independent Project of State Significance (POSS) process being conducted by the Tasmanian Planning Commission which continues.
I would like to see the AFL and Tasmanian government re negotiate the deal they made so that we proceed with the team Tasmanians want and deserve and revisit the idea of a designated stadium at a later date.
What is your plan for attending to the poor financial situation in Tasmania?
My priority is substantive budget reform that is necessary and long overdue.
I would welcome a round table discussion about budget repair with wide consultation and representation so that everything up for discussion including Saul Eslakes final report into Government owned businesses which the government has decommissioned.
We need to evaluate all options to come up with a plan that can improve the financial situation so that the state can continue to provide fundamental services health, education and housing.
What is your position on greyhound racing?
I am a veterinarian and see and have to treat or euthanase greyhounds sustaining injuries through racing.
With time and knowledge our understandings change, and as humans who have a duty of care to animals, we now know that animals are sentinent beings and we should not be using them for human entertainment especially when this causes an unnecessarily high risk to their health and welfare.
Around the world greyhound racing is being phased out or has ceased.
Australia remains one of only seven countries with a commercial greyhound racing
industry — and by far the largest.
In Tasmania, the government uses our taxpayer money subsidising an industry which along with its unacceptable poor animal health and welfare outcomes for the dogs involved, is ultimately about gambling, and we understand the societal harms of gambling more than ever before.
Any government should not be using taxpayer funds to prop up an unsustainable industry let alone one that causes harm.
The industry no longer has a social licence and is financially unsustainable.
With the funding feed due to expire 2028-2029 financial year it is time to phase out greyhound racing with an appropriate exit package for those employed, and time to find forever homes for the greyhounds involved.