What motivated you to run?
I’ve been a resident in Charlton for 30 years, I’ve been a resident, in business and I’ve also been a involved with the launch of the John Hunter Hospital and I’ve worked for the Area Health Service for a decade. I’ve been in private practice…and after 30 years I decided that our region never gets any funding. We’ve been safe Labor for decades and I just felt that it is time for our region to get some funding. I’ve never been involved in any political party, but with the Palmer United Party I represent my electorate – there isn’t a caucus, there isn’t any faction groups, so I represent what the electorate wants, I vote according to my conscious and also what my electorate wants. So I truly represent my electorate, I am not a politician, I’m a representative.
What are some of the big issues in the electorate?
One in four residents in Charlton is over 65 so it is really important for us to get really good aged care facilities and respite services. I live in the lower part of Charlton and because I have worked in both the Central Coast Health Service and the Hunter Health Service and I find that we really need a lower hunter Hospital. We have long waiting time for our ambulances and with a growing ageing population and a growing family population we need our own hospital.
I worked for 12 years in private practice, working on mental health issues and OECD figures say that for every 100 000 population we should have 70 acute mental health care beds. We only have 22 and we don’t have the resources for youth intervention in mental health. So it is really important that we have intervention for suicide prevention, drug and alcohol issues, eating disorders, a lot of things that if we do early intervention, we can truly save somebody’s life. So after 12 years of working with people in very desperate situations a lot of people who are homeless, who are not cared for adequately because we just don’t have the funding to do so and we just don’t have the resources I’m very passionate to make sure we do something for mental health issues.
My region also only has 1% of affordable housing so if you’re in a low income bracket, if you’re a pensioner, if you’re on a disability pension if you are a student, or a low income family, only 1% of rentals is affordable to you. So I would really like to see us increase affordable housing and we have a lot of people homeless as well.
If you’ve ever driven on our roads you’d know our roads haven’t been given proper infrastructure funding some areas in Charlton, like Wallsend, are subject to flooding and there has been no infrastructure funding made. None of this is ever funded and I think it is really important that places like Cardiff and Wallsend are not overlooked anymore. I believe that our region deserves better we are a growing population and I’ve lived here 30 years, I’ve driven on the roads, I’ve lived here, I’ve been involved in commissioning hospitals, I’ve worked in private practice, I’m a mother of 3 children.
I also want to oppose the cuts to the University of Newcastle budget because Newcastle University has a proud reputation for having a good intake of Indigenous and low socioeconomic students, and that quality should not be eroded. My daughter is about to finish tourism and hospitality at TAFE, and that’s going to be cut. That whole course. And again low socioeconomic families get their training from TAFE and both of my sons went to Newcastle University so I’m passionate about making sure we don’t erode our education in this area. It is really a way out of poverty for many people and it’s a way out of unemployment. We don’t want a generation jobless.
This area generates the highest amount of income in coal production we have the highest amount of income in food production, in agri-business we have world class ports and facilities but none of it comes back to us and why? Because we are a safe Labor seat. So I hope this time people will vote for me and vote for funding in our region. It’s about time that we told Labor that we are not going to be neglected anymore. And as a 30 year local I think I have a handle on what needs to be done in my region and I’m a very strong advocate for what I believe our region needs.
I also want to say to those people in my electorate of Charlton, I’m very sorry we don’t have a Liberal candidate because both he and I were both pushing to make sure we won’t continue being safe Labor and lose our funding. So the Liberal party has asked me to say that a vote for me is also a vote to make sure Labor doesn’t get in both federally and in Charlton. So if you didn’t know what to do now that you don’t have a Liberal candidate they’ve asked to make sure you support me because I’ll make sure we don’t have a Labor in Charlton.
How do you rate your chances of winning the seat?
Well I rate my chances very well. I’ve had some people say it is safe Labor and it will always be safe Labor but I don’t think people are stupid. Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
And I think that people are saying now it is time for change so I’d say to my electorate vote for change and change your vote. And you know what if you decide you don’t want to vote for politicians and you’re fed up with them, I’m not a politician I’m a representative. If you throw a donkey vote usually I’ll take it as a protest vote. So you put Bronwyn Reid there as your protest vote and I’ promise I’ll protest against the neglect of Labor.
( Interview conducted at Lake Macquarie Business Lunch 22/8 )
