I’ve been reading the comments about political candidates for the upcoming state election in Echonetdaily over the past few weeks. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people forget about the track-record of political parties.
For instance, the Labor Party have an appalling record here on the north coast. The Labor Party were the ones who closed the Casino-Murwillumbah rail line in 2004, originally gave out the coal seam gas exploration licences in 2006, mapped the new Pacific Highway route through core koala habitat south of Ballina in 2007, tried to sell off the public’s electricity poles and wires network in 2008, ripped planning control for the West Byron mega-development off Byron Council in 2009 and cut funding off thousands of local single parents in 2013.
Now they are in opposition, they are basically campaigning against their own track record from when they were Government! This is a party that clearly cannot be trusted.
Elections are not a simple reality TV show where individual contestants are vying against each other; we are voting for a party as well.
That’s why I’ll be voting for Greens candidate, Tamara Smith because she not only has decades of involvement standing up for environmental and social justice causes, including the campaigns against sand mining on Fraser Island and Club Med in Byron Bay, but also represents a party (The Greens) who have consistently stood up for communities and the environment when the ALP has sold us out so many times.
Sharon Gibson, Mullumbimby
