Hello the USofA, Germany, France, and Aotearoa (New Zealand)...welcome to the blog...and, for what it's worth, my summation of the various candidates...the eclectic collection of prospective contenders for the impending election.
Brief Aside: As I understand it, Aboriginal Australians do not have a specific definition of, or name for, Australia as a country, rather names for individual areas, geographical features, etc, and many of these names have been assimilated by us European occupiers, eg, apparently 'Canberra' means a woman's breast...(and some would say 'invaders' not 'occupiers'-Ed)...fair enough...
This Review is somewhat complicated by the fact that I don't actually know most of these people...(that, and they live in Adelaide-Ed)...indeed, and dare I admit it, what I do know comes largely via The Border Watch newspaper, local ABC Radio, etc...and I know it sounds very parochial, but I immediately prefer a candidate based within the seat.
There are issues of trying to access health services, lack of other services, etc, that can only be truly experienced from within, and community attitudes and experiences that you won't see from Adelaide...however, the Interweb does somewhat counter the Adelaide media's tendency to ignore Regional South Australia by offering access to our local news services.
To the other extreme, some local candidates are clearly aligned to local vested interests whom have collectively rooted Mt Gambier right into the ground...so which is the lesser evil?...
I would also suggest that 'Interwebbing' the candidates would be the quickest way to access specific information about them and the parties they represent...but I'd be careful about taking any Party's or candidates internal information as absolute fact and I'd be looking at what they don't say just as carefully...sounds obvious but it's worth keeping in mind...for example, I do note that Family First advertising and literature appears
to be very quiet about the fact that they are a 'Christian-based' Party.
Good, bad, or indifferent, this sectarian affiliation will obviously impact on policy and I find it an issue that they would not have this 'declaration' at the fore-front of their campaign...I'm not suggesting that they are specifically trying to hide anything, but the supposed Separation of Powers and of State from Religion are both issues that require appropriate disclosure.
I concur with FF claims that they have done some good work in SA state parliament raising issues that both major parties don't seem particularly interested in and/or concerned about...(or at least genuinely concerned about-Ed)...indeed, good point...particularly issues of regional SA.
However, for some people Religious affiliation is enough to decide their vote and that would often be 'away' from that organisation/party, and I feel that this is possibly the motivation for Family First...they are acknowledging that there is more (votes) to be lost than gained by openly promoting their 'Christian base'...however, I defer to their candidates to explain their specific position...and in the seat of Barker this is Kristin Lambert.
I know that it's very depressing to constantly consider...(bang on about, you mean-Ed)...the demise of your community, but these are the things that are happening, and 'off-blog' people are stating to me their own personal concerns about the fact that Mt Gambier is 'going backwards'...and backwards at an accelerating rate with no clear indicator of where that will stop.
Again, I make no claim to being 'the voice of the people' or anything like that, but as much as possible I talk to people...(it's getting him to shut up that's the trick-Ed)...about what is going on for them and what they think, and the constant concern is this accelerating decline of Mt Gambier.
And whilst this decline is largely driven by the entirely selfish and self-serving Politicians in Adelaide who are far more concerned with their own re-election than anything that happens in Regional SA, it is the equally selfish, rampant corruption of local officials that greatly exacerbates this damage.
Mt Gambier is doing it tough enough with the constant and ongoing withdrawl of public services and the related jobs and the income that generates for the local economy, etc, but then you have the local officials who are destroying what's left...(have effectively already destroyed-Ed)...well, yes, that's the real concern...that the damage that City Council and the Grant District Council have done with their mutually beneficial personal land re-zonings, development approvals, etc, is irretrievable. (see previous posts)
To make an unpleasant metaphor...it's like repeatedly getting punched in the face (by the Rann/Weatherill Labour government) while your own team (local government and your local member) punch you in the back of the head.
I have already covered in previous posts what I think about candidates Liberal Tony Pasin and alleged Independent Richard Sage and the extraordinary chronology of dodgy land re-zonings and development deals that have specifically profited serving Councillors, etc, that these two have been intimately and officially involved in as members of local government.
One need look no further than the Bunnings/Big W/Millicent Rd disaster and the related Rail Lands Retail Agenda and Main Corner fiasco (as per previous posts) to see where local elected officials are making (have made) decisions based not on what is best for their community, but what is best for themselves and their mates.
And I for one am absolutely sick of it...(and you're not the only one-Ed)...damn straight...whilst not everybody is entirely supportive of how I conduct myself personally and/or on this blog, the over-whelming response is 'thank god somebody's giving it a go'.
My recent comments about the National's Miles Hannemann are not a specific endorsement of him as a political candidate, but my observation of him as a person based on a couple of phone calls and one shortish meeting...my statement that the National candidate, whoever that is, is the obvious choice as a 'protest vote' in the safe Conservative seat of Barker, is one made on the fundamental realities of the wider contest, not on specific personality.
And the same for the Labour candidate Phil Golding from Millicent...the little bit of feed-back I've had about him is relatively good, but my concern remains that Labour persistently offer relatively decent people as candidates to gather the Labour vote, but are really betraying their own candidates and actually supporting alleged Independents coming out of the Grant District Council with those Labour preferences.
They did it to Brad Coates for Rory McEwen in 2006, and to Viv Maher for Don Pegler in 2010.
I know nothing about the Palmer United Party's Mr Balwinder Singh or the Green's Mark Keough outside of what has been in The Border Watch...as party candidates I think it's safe to assume they follow those ideals and platforms.
I look forward to the declaration of preferences that will indicate where these parties lie with respect to one another...and no, I haven't missed the reality that preferencing the Nationals would potentially be directing them to the Liberals Tony Pasin...
I cannot support the Liberals, but consider this appropriate because of the well defined and established Conservative nature of the seat of Barker.
Tomorrow: More Mt Gambier Re-Zoning Issues
I was just staggered to see Mayor Steve Perryman grinning inanely on the front page of The Border Watch under a headline that says how great things are going for the South East...poppycock and balderdash...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog...cheers...
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