Remove emergency powers that allow 1 unelected person to shut down the entire state. The very idea of being a democracy is that many people will be involved in important decisions that affect the lives of the whole population.
Freedom to tell the truth at all times. Recently there has been much debate about the meaning of gender. The traditional meaning based on the physical attributes associated with the role you play in the reproductive process is being replaced by any individuals fantasy. If an adult individual wants to think, speak, or act in a certain way, and be free to do so, then they should accept that other individuals may have their own opinion about these things. No one else should be punished for having a different opinion. Recent changes to the Antidiscrimination Act are making unreasonable requirements in the workplace. It will make it very hard for businesses to function, as it will require your boss to prevent discrimination from happening. I believe this will be impossible, and any penalties applied will cause businesses to fail. In their wisdom the Government has chosen to allow these changes to come into effect after the elections are held. This law should be abolished.
Equality for all. Remove requirements to please minority groups.
Increase the capacity of Queensland's hospitals. 3.9 beds/1000 people is insufficient. Japan and South Korea have 12 beds/1000 people. People are being sent home from hospital before they are ready just to make room. This is a dangerous practice.
Build New Dams. Queensland's water resources are insufficient for the future. We cannot afford to run out! In the millennium drought we were reduced to less than 20 percent of capacity left in the dam. The population has grown 20 percent since then, so a drought of the same length would run the dam dry. It has been irresponsible of both major parties to not build more dams on the Brisbane River during their time in government. I would support more dams on the Brisbane River, and the Hell's Gate dam in North Queensland. I would support the Bradfield Scheme, which would give Australia permanent water security. All development requires water, and as our population grows our water resources must increase.
There are plans for changes in Sandgate, with multi-storey buildings proposed. This may be inevitable, but I think there needs to be careful planning for the impact this will have on our community. It may be wise to consider building these on higher ground considering the predictions of global sea rises in the coming years, even though it has barely started yet. Average tides at Fort Denison, Sydney, (tides and currents.noaa.gov) show a 10cm rise in 100 years, but we wouldn't want to waste the natural resources, just in case the predictions are right.
Proper consideration of renewable energy cost, waste products, and emissions. We are told that renewables are the cheapest and cleanest form of power. I am curious about whether they count the cost and emissions of mining the resources for building these renewable power sources, the emissions to run the windmills, and the cost and consequences of dumping so much waste every 20 years. This is a very short useful life for the amount of waste produced. There is also the cost of the transmission lines to bring the power from the Outback to the city.
Allow open debate about the climate change cause and effect. Sometimes there are assumptions made that can over a long time be proven false. We must continue to allow open debate so that we are not blindly following a wrong path. Maybe we should discuss the elephant in the room, global shipping. Does it not contribute to emissions because these emissions happen in international waters? If we are trying to cut back on emissions, shipping large amounts of ore overseas to buy it back as a refined product doesn't make sense. We should return to manufacturing locally. This would make our economy much stronger and healthier, and prevent the shortage of goods that was evident during the Covid lockdowns. We are aware now that shipping could be affected by regional conflicts, and we shouldn't be so reliant on it.
Find a better way to deal with juvenile offenders.
Equal justice. No more double demerits or penalties. I believe that there should be an equal penalty for the same action. Why should a person be given twice the fine for the same offence, just because they have a criminal record. Repeat offenders will quickly lose their licence. This does make life more difficult for people, as it can impact on their ability to obtain and keep employment. We shouldn't make it worse by this unjust approach.
Reverse changes to the seatbelt fine. I personally know several people who have been caught not wearing their seatbelt properly. They have found it very hard to pay the massive increase that has been applied to this fine. I was talking to a man who had his 20 year old daughter as a passenger. She was not wearing the seatbelt properly, so both the driver and the passenger received a fine. Previously the driver was only fined if his passenger was under 16 years old. It is not reasonable to expect a driver to watch the road, and see if a passenger has removed their seatbelt. I prefer to have the driver watching the road, as this reduces the chance of an accident, and the need for seatbelts to save us.
Make reasonable efforts to reduce government debt. I do not consider granting government contracts to overseas or interstate companies because they put in a cheaper tender a reasonable way to try to reduce expenses and debt. I can remember the trains built in India, that needed refitting when they arrived here. The loss of local jobs has a negative impact on the economy, and this reduces taxes to governments for years. We need to support our local industry as much as possible. We also need to build the necessary infrastructure for the future, such as the necessary dams which benefit us all, and delaying this to pay down debt would be a most ignorant thing for a government to do.
Reverse the privatization of the Titles Registry, and the full digitalization of Titles. As Title Deeds show the ownership of your land and houses, it is incredible that the government has decided to make the Titles registry a private company. I read a good article claiming there was false accounting involved at queenslandeconomywatch.com. It should be considered a very important duty of the government to protect the legitimate interests of the people, and this is especially important when we are talking about the largest investment that most people make in their lifetime. I had a friend tell me of a visit at his dad's house by people claiming they had bought the place. He informed them that it had not been sold, and was not for sale. He then received several phone calls still claiming that the house had been bought by others. In the last call, he was asked when his dad bought the house? He responded that his dad didn't buy the house, but that he had built the house. After this the phone calls stopped. Most people won't be able to claim this. The government has chosen to only have digital Titles for real estate. There have always been scammers, but the tools they have available to them today make them much more dangerous. To only have online Titles leaves the system open to hackers changing records, and it would be almost impossible to prove your ownership after this. I believe that returning to issuing physical Title deeds would add extra protection against scammers, as this may end up being your only proof of ownership.
Stay away from nuclear power! I was open to the idea of nuclear power when I was younger, because other countries used it, and it just seemed like it would help with providing a lot of power from a small input. I have listened to the debate about nuclear power over the years, and heard some people talk about the whole process. The mining process is quite dangerous, and this led to the closing of the Ben Lomond mine. There was a serious radioactive spill caused by torrential rainfall. This has polluted the Burdekin River, which is a source of water for Townsville in drought time. This is another good reason to build the Hells Gate dam, as it would be located above the polluted area. There are many radioactive substances more dangerous than the uranium they wish to use exposed during mining. Traditionally nuclear power stations are quite large and require a lot of water for cooling. It is now proposed that we use a new technology, small modular reactors, and we are told "don't worry, it is perfectly safe". The nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom produced power for about 60 years and it will take 120 years to shut them down. We still don't know if this will be a happy ending, or if some catastrophe may occur in the process. Again, it is a matter of accounting for the whole process, not just the end result. Personally I think that nuclear power is like voting for a political party. It's just not worth the risk.
We cannot afford to have shortsighted parties running our state. I am standing because I believe that there needs to be a greater diversity of ideas in the Parliament, and I hope to contribute positively to our future. Please vote 1 for me, and remember to number every box.
