scone.com.auCountry Minded in Scone
WHILE there have been a quite a few politicians running for the lower house seen frantically running around town at the moment, yesterday Chris Buckman took the time to visit Scone.
Chris Buckman, from Country Minded is running for the Senate and visited Scone yesterday.
What is unusual about Mr Buckman visiting is that he is not running for the seat of New England and competing with Joyce and Windsor, he is running for the Senate, which in layperson’s terms means his name is on the large white ballot paper.
Mr Buckman lives in Tamworth, manages a disability service, was born with cerebral palsy, is a candidate for the Country Minded party and may in fact be the only Senate candidate who has visited Scone during the election campaign.
“I was attracted to the Country Minded party because the major parties we have now are like the duopoly of Coles and Woolworths,” said Mr Buckman.
“I liked the philosophy of Country Minded which is not just about representing farmer’s but is about all country people, because rural and regional communities are made up of businesses that are bakeries, mechanics, cafes and hairdressers; the whole community.
“We have been surprised by the number of our supporters in the city, who appreciate how we contribute to the cities and how we need to work together,” he said.
“We want to bridge the gap between the city and the country and make sure the country perspective is included in government policy,” Chris Buckman said.
Chris Buckman, said healthcare and internet access in regional areas were the topics consistently being raised in all of the rural communities he has visited.
“While every country town and regional centre is different we are facing some common concerns and health and the NBN rank highly,” said Mr Buckman.
“My wife had a condition and she had to travel from Tamworth to the John Hunter for treatment and tests, so that was a seven hour round trip,” he said.
“Technology to the Tamworth has improved which now means my wife can have a consultation with her specialist sitting in our lounge room and then go to the local hospital for tests, but every country person should be able to do that,” he said.
“I am angered when I hear the major parties describe the importance of the NBN in terms of being able to download five movies simultaneously; that is not what rural communities want the NBN for, we want it so our families and friends don’t have to travel as much for health care, that we can run competitive businesses and children can learn remotely, all things that the people making the policies, who are sitting in Canberra and Macquarie Street take for granted and think the best thing about the NBN will be downloading movies,” he said.
“I am also concerned that rural youth unemployment is at 18%, we need to start thinking about jobs for the next generation, we need to help communities innovate and identify opportunities for their own towns,” he said.
“The major parties seem to be most interested in the next election and we keep getting to crisis point with jobs, with industries and infrastructure before anything gets done; we need government to have a vision and forecast what we need before we reach crisis point so our communities can be sustainable,” Chris Buckman said.
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