Community & Business
15 October, 2024
Candidates put it all on the line
ALL five candidates standing for Cook at the 26 October election put their best foot forward at last week’s Mareeba Chamber of Commerce luncheon, answering questions about the management of crocodiles, what should be done to improve the region’s road network, how to reduce crime and the importance of water security.
But it was chamber president Joe Moro who revealed that none of the candidates actually live in the Cook electorate and only two – KAP’s Duane Amos and LNP’s David Kempton – have committed to having a permanent office in Mareeba if they are successful at the poll.
Mr Moro asked if any of the candidates would consider moving into the electorate, with Mr Kempton advising he had lived a good portion of his life in the electorate but had moved to Cairns to give his children better educational opportunities and was now preparing to move back into Cook.
Earlier in the luncheon, the candidates outlined why they would be the best person for the job, with Mr Amos saying his party would ensure that decisions affecting the region were made by people living here and not in Brisbane.
He also cited his party’s strong policies on parents’ rights, crocodile management, and youth crime and their willingness to call out waste of taxpayer funds on the “wrong areas”.
Mr Amos pushed the argument that even though KAP could not take government, it could have a major influence on decisions if the party had the balance of power.
But Mr Kempton said there was no question that the election result would be clear cut between Labor or the LNP, so the balance of power was a moot point.
In his address, Mr Kempton focused on the LNP’s crime policy, saying everyone he had spoken to in the electorate had been impacted by crime in some way or another and that things needed “to get tough” and magistrates needed to be able to “meet the expectations of the community” in relation to consequences for young offenders.
“We will give them a choice though – they can either choose education and a process that could help them become contributors to society or they can choose incarceration. They can make up their mind which way they want to go but there’ll be no free ride.”
Mr Kempton reiterated his party’s commitment to fix the Barron River bridge and pursue a road access to Cairns that would be accessible all year round, claiming that $26,000 a day was currently being spent on traffic control on the range road which had not seen further repairs since early this year.
He also made sure he told the audience that even though the Barron River bridge had just reopened to two lanes of traffic, it would revert to one lane after the election.
Cook incumbent Cynthia Lui stood on her record of delivering improved health services in the electorate, citing the upgrades to Cooktown, Weipa and Torres Strait hospitals, and upgrades to the Palmerston and Kennedy Highways as well as the Burke Development Road as testament to her party’s commitment to improving the road network.
She also listed her government’s cost of living measures including free Kindy, vouchers for sport, the electricity rebate and free TAFE courses which, she said, were possible because her government had kept big mining companies “accountable”.
In her final comments, Ms Lui was moved to tears as she told the audience that when she entered politics, former Premier Anastasia Palecek had asked her what she wanted for the Cook electorate and she had replied” hope” and “that’s something I’ve always been very passionate about”.
“Seven years on and looking back at everything we have been able to achieve has been incredible. And it’s been an absolute honour and privilege to represent such a beautiful electorate,” she said.
One Nation’s Peter Campion said his party was all about reflecting “the people’s will” rather than their own agenda, which should be the fundamental role of any government representative.
“I’m despairing for the state of our nation at the moment – businesses should be doing so much better than they are – but you’re not because of decisions taken on our behalf by people who are meant to be representing our will,” he said.
He also rejected the fears of global warming, supporting the continuation of coal-fired power stations and pointing out that China was building more and more every day while Australia’s agenda was to shut them down.
Mr Campion questioned what the future would hold for young people, if we did not “defend the prosperity” of our country, saying he had just greeted a new grandchild a week ago. “What sort of future are we leaving for him?”
The Greens’ Troy Miller said the biggest issue he had encountered in the electorate was the cost of living and his party was committed to improving the basics of life to be paid for by additional taxes by “big corporations”.
“People are struggling under the cost of living – prices are going up and up on housing, groceries, health care, mortgages and education while banks and billionaires are making record profits – do you think this is fair?” he said.
He also believes that much of the youth crime crisis could be attributed to the living conditions of young people, often in overcrowded houses with inadequate food which affected their capacity or desire to want to further their education.
Voting in the State election began on Monday, with pre-polling booths now open.
