Nine federal candidates for the May 3 election fronted up at the Byron Theatre on Monday night to make their pitch to voters.
Nationals candidate, Kimberley Hone, was unable to attend, owing to a family emergency.
Moderator Mia Armitage and timekeeper Aslan Shand (from BayFM and Echo, respectively) kept the candidate’s replies within time limits.
Overall, there was thankfully minimal disruption from the audience, and candidates were given an opportunity to canvas their policies and answer questions put to them by the public, albeit in a very short timeframe.
Given the potential for unruly behaviour, a security guard was on hand, and at one point he reminded independent candidate Kevin Loughrey that his time for speaking was up. To much applause.
Independent James McKenzie, a farmer from Tweed, opened the evening with ‘You have all been lied to’, and launched into his claims that Bundjalung is a white man’s fabrication.
With five Libertarian candidates on stage, they repeated similar talking points around government incompetence, including covid mismanagement, as well as $1.3trillion government debt. Immigration was also blamed for the cost of living and housing crisis.
The science around climate was also challenged, yet both Greens candidate Mandy Nolan and Labor MP Justine Elliot reaffirmed their support of the science.
The candidates were asked how they would address reducing climate impacts such as flooding and fires.
Many agreed that the region’s rivers and creeks are full of silt, and that if cleared, it allows them to flow and drain quicker though none provided any scientific support for these assertions.
Mrs Elliot said Labor is heading an inquiry/task force into disaster insurance, which has increased considerably and is now unaffordable for many. McKenzie said that he expects weather events to increase drastically.
‘You haven’t seen anything yet,’ he said.
Incumbent MP Justine Elliot told the room there was a ‘clear a choice between opposition leader Peter Dutton and us. We delivered tax cuts, energy rebates, free TAFE. We reduced HECS and boosted Medicare’.
Mandy Nolan said she wanted to ‘break the entitlement of the two-party system’.
‘They take money from corporations’, she said, adding she wants to ‘push Labor to act’ on climate change’ and other issues.
‘Our policy is to end new coal gas projects’, she said.
Independent Kevin Loughrey told the audience he had no policies, just opinions and an attitude’. As he was trained in biological warfare, he said the covid mandates and vaccines had severely impacted those close to him, and was critical of the government response. ‘It’s all on my website’, he said.
Housing was another point where candidates differed somewhat – the Libertarians wanted to open up land for development.
Loughrey said a scheme from the 1970s, called the Defence Service Home Scheme, had put married couples in homes at an affordable cost.
MP Elliot said her government had provided first home buyers with an opportunity to buy a home with a five per cent deposit, which is backed by a government guarantee. She said land supply was an issue, and also blamed the Greens and coalition for blocking the Housing Fund.
Independent McKenzie blamed Tweed Council for not allowing more development on rural land. He says he runs glamping on his property, and is constantly hosting families and those who are unable to afford or find their own home.
Candidate Richard Curtin, from Gerard Rennick People First, said we had a ‘hyper inflated property market’.
‘It should have fallen back naturally after Covid, yet we increased immigration’.
Mandy Nolan said, ‘We all know it’s negative gearing and the capital gains discount’.
Points of agreement
Points of agreement included the banning of gambling ads, which also extends to banning political donations from gambling corporations. A report on gambling is before Labor, said Mrs Elliot, yet her party is yet to act upon the recommendations.
All candidates also seemed to agree that a bill of rights, or improving human rights, should be pursued at a federal level.
Labor’s Justine Elliot reminded the audience that her party had brought whistleblower Julian Assange home.
Michael Balderstone, representing Vivian McMahon from the legalise Cannabis Party, made the argument that many problems of the world could be solved through the legalisation of cannabis.
He said hemp is a superior building material, given how fast it grows. It also has heat resistant properties as a fibre, which can be a protection from fire. It is also known to have considerable health benefits as a medicine, he said.
The ‘war on drugs’ was ignored during the campaign, he said, and jails are full of offenders, many young and Aboriginal. The jobs generated from legalised cannabis would be a huge benefit to the economy, he said. And where cannabis has been legalised, he said it has resulted in considerably less suicides.
♦ The meet the candidates night was hosted by BayFM and The Echo. Thanks to the candidates for appearing, and a special thanks to Jo Langton for helping to organise.
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