The extreme hypocrisy – accused of dishonesty by (the Labor party). Yes I hold liberal values, who in politics cannot have a leaning in some direction, however if I nominate in April it will be as an independent because I believe the Legislative Council should be independent of party control.
The LegCo is where the Government of the day is held to account for its blunders, not the place from which Ministers perpetrate them and hide! And ALP MLCs like Lyn Thorp, Michael Aird, Doug Parkinson and John White have not covered themselves in glory.
Running as an unendorsed party member is neither dishonest, nor unusual, even for the ALP. Consider Sylvia Smith, Mike Gaffney and James Crotty – all Labor members, all un-endorsed.
Neither do I hide my liberal values. In fact I will be recycling my blue state campaign posters while the local member hides her ‘red’ credentials with a large yellow background. Who is hiding now!
If ALP Secretary John Dowling is concerned over dishonesty, he has plenty of work in his own party.
• A Labor Minister shedding a tear for a 12 year girl sold into prostitution by her mother while in state care, then huffing off when it is time to reform the law.
• A European holiday tacked onto a government trip, taking a friend in preference to the appropriate advisor before being embarrassed by the press into paying the Fringe Benefits Tax.
• Hiding behind bureaucrats, advisors and press releases instead of facing the people.
• Avoiding Ministerial accountability by being thrown out of the House of Assembly Question Time by the Labor Speaker!
• Dishonesty is a Deputy Premier who, after two trials for looking after a former MLC Labor mate, remains un-acquitted for facts to which his co-conspirator pleaded guilty!
• Then there is the revolving door of Labor Premiers who back-flip on core policies, just to cling to power.
• Dishonesty is having the unions declare a phony war to make the Premier look tough and avoid responsibility for the profligate spending of a government of which she was Deputy Premier, despite knowing for 3 years that the budget was heading into GST trouble.
But this sort of ALP personal attack should not surprise.
• Who authorised the attack on their now coalition partners during the last election by accusing the Greens of condoning heroin dealing?
I am proud to hold liberal views and to be a member of a party that values individualism, reward for effort, small government and wealth creating private sector hand-ups rather than public sector welfare hand-outs that perpetuate social disadvantage.
I do not think it appropriate for Legislative Council members to be bound by every party policy or its implementation. If elected, I undertake to hold all governments accountable, Labor/Green and Liberal alike, I will use my extensive experience of government policy development and implementation and act according to my values and in the best interests of the voters of Rumney, as I do in Local Government.
MLCs occupy the only single member seats in the Tasmanian Parliament so they have a duty to review the Government and place their constituent’s interests ahead of party discipline. Party discipline is more appropriate to the lower house, where government is formed and discipline must be tight.
