Tony Windsor – Independent Candidate

Tony Windsor, independent candidate for the seat of New England said he was glad to see all of the funding announcements for local projects, which is what tends to happen in a seat which becomes competitive.

We asked Tony if he would be on the outer if a coalition government was elected this time around.

“If you were in Canberra the day I announced I was running, the amount of Liberals who came to see me was quite incredible,” said Mr Windsor.

“I get on very well with the Prime Minister, he was on the outer with Abbot during the hung parliament and Oakeshott had the office next door to him and they used to often eat lunch together,” he said.

“I know people like to paint politics in that light, but I have a lot of friends in the Liberal party and some in the National Party as well, my issue with the National Party isn’t about the individuals it is that the Nats don’t do what they could do for regional people,” he said.

“Regional Australia has always held the balance of power, there’s always been country member who has held the balance of power in every parliament that we’ve had since federation, if the regional party actually wanted to take charge they could, but as soon as the seat is safe they revert to type,” Tony Windsor said.

FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENTS

Barnaby Joyce the Nationals candidate has made several key funding announcements in the lead up to the election, so we asked how as an independent Tony Windsor could deliver those promises after the election.

Windsor said he had been in touch with the Prime Minister and was assured all government commitments made by Mr Joyce would be honoured after the election.

“It’s one of the spin offs of political competition, we are seeing things being announced money being found that couldn’t be found before,” said Mr Windsor.

“It’s against the electoral act, an inducement, to say Barnaby has to win or you don’t get this or don’t get that,” he said.

“We wrote to Turnbull asking that he confirm that these are government commitments rather than Joyce freelancing,” he said.

“We have been assured all government promises will be honoured,” Tony Windsor said.

It is against the electoral act to commit to funding on the premise that a particular candidate is elected, as it is seen as an inducement.

 

BYPASS

“I think the recent bypass money announced is serious; it’s more an escalation in price from the 90 million to meet the new design,” said Mr Windsor.

“As I said to the Mayor the one to watch in all of this is the RMS, they can deliberately delay and sometimes they are told by the Ministers office, so I’d be more concerned about that than the money at this stage,” he said.

 

LEVY FOR THE THOROUGHBRED INDUSTRY

“They are a legitimate industry and virtually all other industries have some co-payments in terms of their levies and structures and things,” said Mr Windsor.

“You might have a big Sheik up one end, but there are a lot of small farms in the thoroughbred industry and they deserve support like we provide to other primary industries,” he said.

 

LAND USE CONFLICT

“My whole modus of operandi is to find the points of unity instead of the points of division,” said Mr Windsor.

“The party players always go to the points of division it’s the natural context of the Westminster system if you’re for something then I am against it and if you’re for it then I must be against it and if you change your mind, I’ll change mine; that’s not the world I’ve ever lived in,” he said.

“In the electorate I’ve always tried to find what is the thing people agree on and that’s why I see something like the mining thoroughbred thing down here as an interesting challenge; it’s solvable.

“We’ve had a similar thing on the Liverpool Plains and there is a pathway through all that that doesn’t

“We’ve got ourselves into a black and white issue where you are for mining or against, well why do we have to be against every mine or for every mine?

“There’s obviously issues with some mines and there are places where you could have them.

“The big problem is our planning process, the policy has been developed on the run and has really never taken into account the relationship with other industry and it just gets into a conflict situation

“If I am elected I reckon there is a really interesting model that could be developed for that Segenhoe Valley and the mining as well, but it has to be based on a parameter that works,” he said.

“At the moment nobody trusts the process,” Tony Windsor said.