Candidate: Pete Wills

scone.com.au has sent each of the 17 candidates in the upcoming by-election for the seat of New England a series of questions and we will publish their responses so you can compare each candidate. As each candidate responds we will publish their answers. You can click on 2017 New England By-Election to read more about each candidate.

 

1. What do you think are the priorities for the people of the Upper Hunter area?

Education options for TAFE and schools with fair funding, so children and our young people, and those seeking to re-enter the workforce have the best opportunities in life.
Real action on Climate Change and protections for sustainable agriculture, water, and related industries in our region.
A way forward in the energy sector that doesn’t compromise our future. Renewable energy is at the forefront, but it’s been cast aside by an ideological viewpoint held strongly by The Nationals. Coal will never be clean and never be the future.

 

2. What are your major policies?

The Greens have a complete range of policies across all areas of need. Our policies and their creation and guidance is founded in the grassroots membership of the Greens. We base our policy framework around 4 ideals. Environmental sustainability, Social justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Peace and non-violence. Many of these are lacking in the politics of our major old party system both at state and federal levels.

 

3. Where do you live?

My life surrounds our family farms at Quirindi, where I was born, raised and schooled to 18. We have a cattle operation next to Whitehaven Coal Mine at Werris Creek, and the family home is on our cropping property on the plain just outside Quirindi. I bought a small property at Breeza when it was in the seat of New England, it’s now just 10km outside the seat. Since taking over responsibilities on the farms I reside seasonally at the farm based around farm requirements, the season on the farm and cattle work.

 

4. Would you support funding for an in town rail overpass in Scone?

Greens investigated this question last year and we found many locals preferred to save Elizabeth Park by providing a heavy vehicles detour that avoids the railway line, and generates additional income for the town through a major new truck service centre near the industrial park in the north.

 

5. Would you change section 44? Why/Why not?

No. It’s a valid point in the constitution, and many people in Government have already gone through the renouncing of historical family allegiances and ties to foreign countries. It is a clear tick box on the Australian Electoral Commission paperwork that everyone, including I have signed. I thought it funny that Mr Joyce wanted it removed by a referendum, yet would he support adding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in acknowledgment of their first place in the constitution of this land?

 

6. Would you support a bill for voluntary euthanasia?

Yes. I strongly support the right to choose from end of life options, for those in dreadful terminal conditions. I don’t know what it would be like to be in the position, and who do any of us know what we may be feeling in pain and emotion at the end of life, in terminal and painful conditions. I feel we need proper fully funded palliative care services to alleviate as much suffering, with Euthanasia options available for an individuals choice, with all medical safeguards and supervisions in place.

 

7. Do you support coal seam gas development?

I and the Greens do not support Coal Seam Gas, and I have been actively protesting this with my local Quirindi community, and have often travelled to the Pilliga and Narrabri areas to see and listen to farmers and community’s members. We can not allow this industry in via the Pilliga Santos Narrabri project, with the area being a recharge zone to the Great Artisian Basin. The entire southern half of the New England electorate is peppered with CSG exploration licence. We need to stop this industry in its tracks today, or we are next.

 

8. Would you reopen/establish more federal government services in the Upper Hunter area such as the Medicare office?
Greens strongly support Medicare and intend to expand it to fund Denticare — comprehensive dental check-ups and services for all Australians. This would save more money than it costs, in preventing illness and injury from poor dental health.

 

9. Would you support mining in the Upper Hunter area?

The Greens want protections from risk or damage to our Agricultural land and food bowl precincts, and proper protections to water to ensure its sustainable and efficient use. We have a policy of No New Coal mines, and respect community rights to protest and reject the damaging known effects from these new and expanding mining operations. With the end of Coal in sight, and having seen extreme volatility in the industry in recent years, we seek a planned transition away from the Thermal Coal industry.

 

10. What would you do to create jobs and growth in the Upper Hunter area?
Restore our TAFE colleges, promote sustainable agriculture, support the domestic meat industry by ending the cruel live exports trade and building up the local employment that comes from local livestock processing and packing.

 

11. Will you support the gay marriage bill? Will you support religious protections? Why/why not?
Along with a majority of New England voters, Greens voted YES to marriage equality. The fact we had to vote and show our support via the post, was a joke and expensive distraction. The Government should have simply voted on enacting equal rights.

Provided they don’t enshrine in law a new right to discriminate, there is nothing wrong with ensuring that people are free to practice their religion, or no religion. But no baker I know doesn’t want to make a cake and sell it to them for someone’s happy day. The religious “right” of politics should stop throwing stones, and look at more pressing issues within the Church’s guardianship.

 

12. Do you think there should be a renewable energy target? Why/why not?
The Greens have a target of 100% renewable energy policy for NSW by 2030. We want an organised and thoroughly planned transition for the energy sector, and its workers, from polluting coal power to clean energy, which will help meet our commitments to proper action on Climate Change, the biggest threat to the way we live, and in particular, farm today. We need to start the transition, and need to take action today.

 

13. Do you think the company tax rate should be lowered? Why/why not?

We in the Australian Greens don’t agree with giving company tax cuts whilst schools, tertiary education facilities, hospitals, elderly care options and some of the most disadvantage in our community’s are living and just barely surviving on limited supplies of financial support. There are corporations out there flaunting the system, paying less tax per annum than an average family, thanks to clever accounting and the system that allows them to abuse their position of power.

 

14. What do you propose should be done with refugees?

Refugees need to be treated with compassion and respect in the first instance. These people aren’t on a gap year holiday, they mostly have fled from war torn regions across the globe. Finding people as genuine refugees quickly and efficiently, at their country of origin is our imperative, not having them travel in perilous conditions simply to find themselves locked up on a remote island location, isolated from communities and genuine caring surrounds.

 

15. The majority of federal road funding goes to Sydney, what do you proposed to do to get more funding for the New England and where would you spend it?
The Scone Bypass, plus a regional truck service centre north of town!

 

16. What would you do to make housing more affordable?
We need incentives to help first home buyers to enter the market, not incentives for someone buying their 5th or 10th investment property.