Transcript of media conference with Peter George, independent candidate for the federal seat of Franklin, Parliament Lawns, Hobart, 14 February 2025.
Peter George
We’re here today because Climate 200, which supports something like 35 or 40 independents all around Australia, has chosen the electorate of Franklin, has chosen me as a candidate, as the only candidate who’s standing against the Labor minister, which is Julie Collins. Julie Collins has been local MP for 17 years. She’s also the Minister of Fisheries now, who wants to sell off our waterways, these glorious waterways of Franklin, to the multinational fish farms. See the damage that they’re causing, she supports that just like the Liberal Party does.
Julie Collins was the Minister for Housing and has presided over a housing crisis. I think it’s time that the people of Franklin and the people of Tasmania got a better choice than either Labor or Liberal, that the people of Franklin actually will choose an independent who is able to work right across party lines for Franklin, reflecting the voices of Franklin in Canberra at Federal Parliament.
Journalist – Katri Uibu
In choosing you what did they say? Why did they choose you?
Peter George
Climate 200 supports our campaign because we’ve got the right sort of policies. We are deeply concerned about climate action, we are deeply concerned about the cost of living crisis, the housing crisis. We believe in transparency in Parliament.
One of the great things that Climate 200 has been pressing for for so long is transparency, accountability and integrity in Parliament. And frankly, we’re not getting that from the major parties. The major parties respond only to the big end of town. The major parties respond only to the donors. As we’ve discovered in the last week, independents represent local people with local issues, take them to Canberra and argue for in Canberra, for the local people.
That is something that Julie Collins has totally failed to do in 17 years, otherwise we wouldn’t be living in an electorate where 80% of people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads through either rent or through mortgage, and 75% of people in Franklin are suffering from trying to pay their bills. They’re suffering a real economic stress in this in this electorate. It shouldn’t be happening, doesn’t have to be happening, and it’s because of the fact that the major parties have simply left Franklin behind.
Tasmanian Times
Does this funding come with any strings attached?
Peter George
Funding comes with no strings attached at all. It’s $30,000 contributing to the campaign because Climate 200 likes the policies and believes that the time for independents in Australia and in Federal Parliament has come. What we need is a minority government with people of integrity holding both parties to account, and that’s what I think is going to happen in the Federal Election. I don’t think either party is going to get a majority. They’ll be held to account by a strong and honest cross bench
Journalist – Duncan Abey
You have a profile opposing, a recent profile, anyway, opposing fish farms in Tasmania. How important is that issue in the seat of Franklin?
Peter George
For the people of Franklin, who love the waterways, who use them for fishing, swimming, diving, for all sorts of recreation, the waterways of Franklin are amongst the most beautiful in the world, and they are already under great stress from the fish farms. Julie Collins, Fisheries Minister, along with Tanya Plibersek as Environment Minister, support another 50 major fish farm feed lots going into the north of Storm Bay. Frankly, we are sick and tired of selling off the important waterways, these beautiful waterways, to the multinationals for no return at all.
Journalist – Katri Uibu
Some of those really difficult issues, like housing crisis, health crisis, cost of living, how are you going to address those?
Peter George
Well, you’ve got to tackle all these problems that Labor and Liberal have failed to tackle in the last two, three, four generations. Something has got to change. We need a complete rewrite for tax reform. We need a national policy, legislated national policy for housing, and we need to ensure that the supermarkets are not ripping off Tasmanians by price gouging.
These are things that can be changed, but won’t be changed and never have been changed by swapping between Labor and Liberal. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting to get a better result, voting Labor and Liberal is the definition of insanity. I don’t think that Tasmanians are prepared to put up with this insanity any longer. We will be able to work as a cross bench. We’ll be able to work across party lines to get better outcomes. We’ll work with anyone who is prepared to tackle the real issues.
Tasmanian Times
Labor and the Coalition teamed up in the Federal Parliament this week to pass donations and electoral reform. The general view that I’ve seen appears to be that this favours them, rather than independents. Have you had time to form a view on this legislation?
Peter George
I’ve had a look at the legislation. The legislation is quite clear. It’s designed specifically to ensure that the big parties continue to get as much money as they can from the big donors and to force out the independents. And that’s not surprising. Let’s face it, both major parties are terrified that they’re going to lose their power.
The whole point of these parties is to hold on to power. It’s not actually to help the people of Franklin or to help local people to improve their way of life, it is to hold on to power. The best way to do that is to make sure that they’re cashed up and that independents are forced onto the sidelines. But it’s not going to happen, because it’s not money that will be driving the parties to success or the independents to success. It’ll be honesty, integrity and the fact that we’ve got better policies.
Journalist – Duncan Abey
How important is $30,000 to an independent campaign like your own?
Peter George
Every $20 is important to the campaign. I can say that I have been thoroughly encouraged by the fact that in a campaign, in only four weeks, we have had so many donations, lots of them small, some of them large. $30,000 from Climate 200 is the largest of them all.
But it does mean that we can fund a campaign. We will have to … of course, we’ll be the underdog. Of course, the major parties will have more money than we have. The benefits that we have is honesty and integrity and the fact that Tasmanians can look at the big parties and know they haven’t been well served in the last two, three generations.
Tasmanian Times
Are you expecting the salmon industry and perhaps others, who knows, forestry, to fund campaigns against you?
Peter George
Oh, I expect the salmon industry, forestry, well, I expect any of the big corporates to stump up funds for the big parties, because that’s what they do. They’re the mates, they’re the big end of town. But it really doesn’t matter very much. We have enough money to run a substantial campaign and to get our message out. And I think that people of Franklin are probably tired enough of the of the big parties and looking for an alternative, and I think that this campaign is offering a real alternative.
Journalist – Duncan Abey
What kind of member would you like to be if you’re elected?
Peter George
I’d like to be a member who does what the Constitution originally envisaged more than 100 years ago, and that is listen to the people of Franklin. Take the take the problems, the issues, the important things for the people of Franklin, take them up to Canberra and to report back to them that I am actually listening to and responding to all the things that Franklin needs.
Franklin is suffering worse than most areas of Australia, with mortgage stress, rent stress, struggling to put food on the table, struggling to pay their bills. These are the things that really will drive the people of Franklin at the day to day level.
And at the other level, people of Franklin recognise the fact that we have to do something about the climate. We have to do something about the environment. Hobart and greater Hobart is the most vulnerable area in Australia to the sort of conflagration that we saw in Los Angeles, and if we don’t act urgently on all the things that we need to act on nationally, on climate change, we’re going to face a terrible disaster somewhere around somewhere in the next decade or two.
Journalist – Katri Uibu
What do you think your chances against Julie Collins are?
Peter George
Julie Collins has been absent without leave for the last 17 years as a minister. She was the Minister for Fisheries who wants to see our waterways taken over by the salmon farms. As Minister for Housing, she presided over a housing crisis. I don’t know really what Julie Collins has really got left to offer to this electorate after 17 years.
So I think Julie Collins is vulnerable. I wouldn’t be running this campaign if I didn’t think she was vulnerable, Climate 200 certainly wouldn’t be promoting this campaign and helping to fund it. If it didn’t believe that Julie Collins is vulnerable to a proper, open, honest independent candidate.
One other thing I might say to you is that we need to change the way that Tasmania operates. And if ever there was a wake up call, it’s this from the Centre for the Study of Corruption, which is in the UK, which is just put out a paper looking at the systemic sort of corruption that we have in Tasmanian where insiders get all the running and outsiders – in other words, the rest of Tasmanians – are locked out. I want to end this sort of systemic corruption by going to Parliament and showing people that we can run an honest, democratic, open government that includes the people of Franklin and includes all Australian voters.
CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF CORRUPTION: Tasmania – the Corruption Isle?
