My Key Messages

• Reintroduction of School based police officer program for several State Schools
  The School based Police Officer program was enormously popular when it was operating several years ago. It was a great way for police to work with local youth, and foster good relationships with the schooland local communities. A roll out of pilot programs at select schools should be initially introduced and monitored for a 12 month period before rolling out further school based officer placements should the initial 12 month program prove to be successful.
  
  There are several schools in the south metropolitan region who would welcome this program being initiated. Whilst it could be argued that it would be costly to have a police officer stationed at each Senior School, the officer would also have a ‘primary school’ catchment area.
  
  Does it not make good economic sense to try and prevent problems developing and bubbling over into the community if you can address this at the very source?
  
  Sometimes going back to what was successful in the past, will lay solid foundations for future success.
• Increased resources:
  Increased resources:
  • Community legal and advocacy centres.
  • Citizen Advice Bureau’s outreach legal service.
  • School’s chaplaincy program.
  
  
  Access to legal advice and advocacy services is cost prohibitive to many members of the community. These centres rely on government funding, grants and donations. Funding cuts mean legal advice and advocacy has been reduced and is hurting those most vulnerable. This situation needs to be urgently addressed through additional funding opportunities.
  
  More funding for school based chaplaincy services – the importance of pastoral care in a school community cannot be understated. Chaplaincy Service is reliant on both government and often local government grants. If a school chaplain can assist just one child in time of need, and turn that child’s life around, then it is money well spent.
• Death with dignity
  “An assisted dying law would not result in more people dying, but in fewer people suffering” (Campaign for Dignity in Dying) – Let’s have a mature discussion
  
  WE don't have a choice how we come into this world. But many believe we should choose how we depart it. Many people with terminal or chronic illness want the right to make a choice about their own life’s end - and do not want a prolonged, painful or undignified death.
  
  Death with Dignity is an end-of-life option that allows certain terminally ill people to voluntarily receive a prescription medication from their physician (in a strictly controlled environment) to hasten their death in a peaceful, humane, dignified and legal manner.
  
  We don't hesitate when assisting our beloved pets to go gently when they are in pain.
  
  Why then should we not have the same compassion for our loved ones?
  
  Death with Dignity seems to be a taboo subject that most political parties seem reluctant to address.
  
  Recent data from over 200,000 people that completed the 2016 Vote Compass survey showed Western Australia has a strong opinion.
  
  The statement “Terminally ill patients should be able to legally end their own lives with medical assistance” had the following response:
  
  75% of respondents Agreed with the statement
  16% disagreed
  9% were neutral
  
  Clearly, it is time to have the mature discussion in Western Australia about Death with Dignity – and what the acceptable safe guards might be. I would like to be part of that discussion and would work towards this in Parliament
  
  
• Local Government partnership agreement with State Government
  An agreement with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) is something which has been lacking for nearly a decade. A partnership with this important sector will set up a strong dialogue, and outlines key partnership initiatives. This will help to deliver better government and stronger communities for WA.
• Reduce small business Tax
  “Small business is the lifeblood of our economy”
  (*CCI, Chief Executive Officer Deidre Willmott)
  
  WA small businesses account for 97% of all WA businesses
  
  It employs 44% of WA’s total workforce (100,000 in construction, 67,000 in professional, scientific and technical services, 47,000 in retail and 50,000 employees in health care and social assistance)
  
  If we wish to encourage small businesses to hire more staff, many of the taxes imposed in this sector are in need of review to lessen the burden on business owners
• Fairer share of GST for WA
  Now is the time for the Government to investigate whether a High Court challenge is viable under section 99 of the Australian Constitution (nondiscriminatory provision)
  
  We all know what the GST is, a 10% tax most everything we buy.
  
  The Federal government collects the tax, runs it through a complex formula, and distributes it back to the states.
  
  The distribution is not based on the state’s population size, but based on how well the state is or is not doing.
  
  The states that are doing the best essentially subsidise the states that are not doing so well. For example South Australia gets $1.28 back for every dollar collected from that State. Queensland gets $1.08, Tasmania gets $1.63 and the Northern Territory gets a massive $5.57 for their GST dollar raised.
  
  WA got just under 30 cents last year. Clearly the GST distribution is unfair, it’s broken and it needs to be urgently addressed for the future prosperity of our State.
  
  If you did deeper though, the situation becomes even more unfair for WA. The Eastern States receive a tax income off their pokies – a gambling tax. This is not counted in their GST distribution calculations. This means they get their GST on top of their gambling tax.
  
  WA does not allow gambling, but we get royalties from the mining, oil and gas companies that operate here. That revenue is taken into account by Canberra when they calculate the GST we get back. This means we get less GST because of the royalties we receive.
  
  How is that fair? It’s not, it is discriminatory and penalises WA.
  
  It can be argued that other states have subsidied WA in the past, and whilst this is correct, WA only received around $1.08 for a few years in the early 2000’s.
  
  No other state has come even close to getting less than 30% back, the previous lowest was in NSW in 2004/05 where they went done to 83.5%.
  
  Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull acknowledges it’s unfair. He said there should be a guaranteed minimum of about 75 cents in the dollar, but I can’t see this happening any time soon – unless the outrage of everyday West Australians is heard loud and clear across the borders.
  
  WA is struggling with a serious downturn and Canberra wants us to keep paying more and more.
  
  It seems the more innovative a state is, the more business it attracts, and the better it performs the more GST it must give up to the other states. And when things go into a downturn, like in WA now, we keep getting penalised for at least the next 3 years! WA is almost in a recession, and yet we still have to hand over nearly ¾ of our GST revenue.
  
  And to rub salt in our wounds, we have had to borrow more than $4 billion last year for the GST we are not getting back to subsidise; the other states!
  
  It was never envisaged the GST distribution formula would lead to a situation where any state would get less than 30 per cent of their GST back. The system has got to be fair to everyone and it is clearly not.
  
  The bottom line is that WA is getting fleeced by the other states and we would be in surplus if this was not the situation. You may ask what can a WA Politician do about this?
  
  If elected I will strongly advocate for the government of the day to immediately investigate whether Western Australia has reasonable grounds to challenge the GST discrimination under section 99 of the Australian Constitution which states: “The Commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade, commerce, or revenue, give preference to one State or any part thereof over another State or any part thereof”.
  
  as urged recently by prominent Perth Lawyer, Shane Brennan. https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/wa-urged-to-fight-gst-cut-in-court-ng-b88355950z
  
  
• Local Content
  Support local manufacturers & suppliers when issuing government contracts - it is time for a truly protectionist “WA first” approach.
  
  The term ‘Local content’ is often misunderstood. It refers to the proportion of materials locally manufactured and workers employed during the construction and ongoing operation of projects.
  
  Local Content refers to the quantum/percentage of locally produced materials, workers, financing, goods and services rendered to the project proponent and which can be measured in monetary terms.
  
  These projects can be as much about government projects (such as building bridges or hospitals), as they can about Australian private and foreign company investment here in Western Australia.
  
  In essence a local content policy is a government policy. It makes it clear to those with a project to invest in, that the government has an expectation of a minimum level of work to be sourced locally and or employment from within the Australian community, rather than them being brought in under visa arrangements.
  
  There are numerous advantages to be gained by manufacturing and employing locally. Higher levels of employment stimulate the economy, as do busy fabrication workshops. That additional money in circulation has a multiplier effect throughout the economy. Local expertise is increased therefore strengthening the sector.
  
  A stimulated economy generated additional entry level jobs for the young people in the community. Standards of output are generally much higher with locally manufactured products as they must comply with relevant Australian Standards and employment laws.
  
  Recourse to overseas manufacturers can be very difficult when sub-standard workmanship is exposed. The local economy is strengthened and risks to it are mitigated when it is robust.
  
  There are some often cited disadvantages. It is said the cost of imported product or ‘industrial kit’ is more expensive than that which is locally produced. This may be correct but how many times have we heard of significant additional costs added to projects because of defective goods? Sometimes it is too expensive to develop specialised expertise here, so importation is considered to be acceptable.
  
  If it is good enough for other advanced economies to have enforcable local content policies, then it is surely good enough for us. Western Australia has only a very weak local content policy setting. Our economy is substantially weaker because of this. Perhaps our ‘dig it up and ship it out’ attitude is not so clever after all and it is time for a truly protectionist “WA first” approach.
  
  The Western Australian government could be leading the way by insisting on local content for its major projects. It does not, or if it does, the major contractor awarded the project is seemingly free to import products and workers without penalty. This is simply an example of weak contract management or worse, local content policy window dressing.
  
  This can change.
  
  The government can, as others around the world do, make it mandatory that the local content proportion of contracts is specified in advance, and that there be contractual penalties on the contract principal if it, or its sub-contractors are in breach of the specified minimums. Project proponents can be required to provide a ‘Local Content plan’ as part of their contract bids.
  
  Ongoing government involvement should be to firstly, specify the contracted local content minimums and secondly, to manage the governance aspect by conducting rigorous audits and applying penalties for breaches.
  
  
• Apprenticeships & Traineeship support
  ‘Support local’ and ‘Employ Local’ (WA) initiatives (such as employer incentives) must be mandated to give our young people hope that there will be ‘real’ full time employment opportunities after they complete their training
• Amend the “First Home Buyers Scheme” to include established homes
  Recently the long-standing ‘First Home Buyers Grant’ was increased to $15,000. This amount provides a good start to first home buyers, but why should the grant only apply to the purchase of new homes?
  
  Surely it is better for a first home buyer to have the choice to get into an established property, which usually has all those additional extra’s that families want such as lawns and landscaping, fences, soft furnishings, air-conditioning etc. and it’s in an already established community, one which has important infrastructure such as schools, shopping centres, recreation centres, libraries.
  
  Whilst it is a good to encourage first home buyers into a brand new home, those of us who have built a home know there are many hidden extra’s needed, and they often go down to the bottom of the list when making ends meet to pay a mortgage.
  
  I agree that in a property down turn it is good for the construction industry to keep building new homes as this stimulates trade jobs, but with property prices in WA at a cycle low, why not give our first home buyers a real greater CHOICE, not one funnelling them into one particular property market?
  
  I will work towards the grant to be available to first home owners who want to buy a new or existing house.
• A new port in the Kwinana Industrial Area – for future local job opportunities.
  Fremantle Port is WA's largest and busiest general cargo port. It is the import/export terminal for sea containers, vehicles, and livestock, and services cruise ships and naval vessels - operating 24hrs a day.
  
  It consists of the inner harbour - at the mouth of the Swan River in Fremantle, and the outer harbour, located 20km to the south in the industrial precinct known as the Kwinana Industrial Area.
  
  The inner harbour is approaching 80% capacity.
  
  Yet the State Government has committed to spending almost $2b of tax payer money on extending Roe Highway, which passes residential estates and sensitive wetlands to get more freight traffic nearer to an almost full port.
  
  This $2b could be better spent on developing the outer harbour in Kwinana, and slowly rerouting industrial traffic to an area already servicing industrial uses.
  
  If you look at where the majority of Perth’s freight comes from (and goes to), it is the massive Kewdale intermodal facilities. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the new Perth Freight Link to direct freight from between the port and Kewdale, along Tonkin Hwy, and across the already existing Anketell Road and future (already reserved) Rowley Road to a new port in the industrial heartland of Kwinana? Look at the road maps – it just makes sense! That route doesn’t go through any residential areas.
  
  This route frees up cargo congestion in Fremantle and surrounding suburbs, and leaves the inner harbour open for commercial redevelopment focusing on lifestyle, entertainment, community and sustainable jobs for Western Australians.
  
  A new port will generate investment confident in the southern region, which will lead to tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs. With an estimated 750,000 residents living in the southern corridor of Perth by 2031 there is a need for an economic and employment driver. Let’s not wait for Fremantle Port to get to capacity, let’s start planning strategically for a new port now.
  
  In addition, an often ignored fact is that 25% of the trucks currently using the Fremantle port are placarded loads (carrying dangerous or noxious good) Placarded loads are not allowed to use a tunnel. So how does it make any sense to build a Roe 9 tunnel for the trucks?
  
  (see www.indianoceangateway.com.au)
  
  
• New South Metro Schools on the Government’s Forward Estimates
  Advocate for the planning of a new primary school in Wellard Village, (Baldivis electorate)
  
  Advocate for the planning for two new high schools in Wellard and Baldivis – acknowledge as the 2nd and 3rd fastest growing outer metropolitan suburbs in Australia
  
  In the southwestern coastal parts of the South Metropolitan Electorate the population is growing very rapidly. Such areas include Baldivis and Warnbro in Rockingham, Kwinana, and Cockburn. Whilst there are plans for the construction of new primary and secondary schools, the roll out of the identified schools is lagging far behind the needs of these rapidly growing communities.
• South Metropolitan Region Transport Plan
  In a recent submission on “Perth Transport Plan for 3.5 Million” produced by the South West Group (comprising of local governments in Rockingham, Kwinana, Cockburn, Fremantle, East Fremantle and Melville), it statesthat “over 50% of future population growth in Perth will be south of the river. South Metropolitan and Peel’s population (+700,000 people), dwelling demands (+300,000 new homes) and job growth (+290,000 jobs) exceeds all other sub-regions including Central sub-region (+400,000 people, +215,000 homes, +240,000 jobs). The enhancement of activity centres as regional employment hubs will be critical for providing jobs, relieving congestion and maintaining acceptable standards of living for residents into the future”.
  
  Major economic drivers for WA located in the region include Fremantle Port, a planned outer harbour, Kwinana Industrial Area (KIA) and the Australian Marine Complex (AMC), as well as the Murdoch Activity Centre.
  
  The following Transport solutions been identified as being needed by the South West Group which,. I support:

  • Fremantle to Thornlie Rail Line
  • Perth Light Rail – Stage 2 (Curtin University to Canning Bridge)
  • Light Rail or bus rapid transport to corridors such as: Canning Bridge to Booragoon and Murdoch Trail Station, Murdoch Train Station to Cockburn Coast and Fremantle, Cockburn Coast to Cockburn Central
  • Stirling Murdoch Orbital Rail Stage 3 – Murdoch Rail Station to Thornlie Rail Extension by 3.5 Million or 2050
  • Fremantle Rockingham Controlled Access Highway and grade separation along Stock Road
  • Rowley Road as the principal freight access route to the proposed outer harbour and the planned upgrades for Anketell Road and Mundijong (Kulija) Road. These would be a part of a logical Perth Freight Link
  • Increased freight rail capacity to Kwinana Industrial Area
  • The expansion of the cycling and pedestrian networks in the region
  • The use of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to assist in journey planning, improve safety and maintain road capacity

  I also support the following South West Group requests:

  • Relocation of Canning Bridge Bus Interchange
  • Canning Highway Bridge Duplication
  • Bus Rapid Transit or Light Rail Connections
    • Canning Vale to Murdoch
    • Cockburn Central to Cockburn Coast
    • Canning Highway from Canning Bridge to Fremantle
    • Rockingham city centre and foreshore to the Rockingham Train Station and Warnbro Sound Avenue
  • Armadale Road Bridge (previously known as the North Lake Road Bridge)
  • Replacement of Fremantle Traffic Bridge, including provision for passenger rail and the re-use of all or parts of the existing bridge structure for use by pedestrians and cyclists
  • Additional High Wide Load (HWL) corridors, including the retaining of Anketell Road as HWL when Rowley Road is constructed and designating Mundijong Road-Fremantle Rockingham Highway-AMC-Latitude 32 as HWL corridor
  • Additional rail/road grade separation metropolitan locations
  • New rail stations on the Mandurah Line such as Karnup Station
• 50 Year State Infrastructure Plan
  Hospitals, schools, major roads, freight and passenger rail, ports, utilities – these are examples of State infrastructure.
  
  Big projects such as the above require with long term planning behind them, identified fund options to build them, and they need to be essential for the wellbeing of WA.
  
  Why is there so much political debate about these, and why do infrastructure projects always seem to come up at election time?
  
  From my perspective it means the laying down of plans to implement major projects years ahead of when they are going to be needed.
  
  Infrastructure projects need to be based on a sound commercial business case, which consider the environmental, economic or social benefits that will accrue to the State. Also, the projects need to be prioritised against each other, based on the benefits that accrue to us, the State.
  
  Do we have this? No. Infrastructure projects, by both the Liberal and Labor parties, and now the Nationals with their Royalties for the Regions pot of gold, seem to be decided based on a the government (or opposition) of the day having a short term thought bubble to help it get elected at the next poll.
  
  What is wrong with this? Everything. We are talking about tens of billions of our dollars being spent on projects which we have no idea of where they fit into the overall priorities of the State.
  
  Would you run your household or business on this basis, with the big expenditure items just popping on to the ‘to do today’ list? No.
  
  You have a plan, and you stick to it, reviewing the priorities every few years don’t you?
  
  Investors in the infrastructure project ‘market’ need certainty. They need to know that the major project plans for the State are set in concrete for all to see. Having no reasonable level of certainty translates into higher costs for the taxpayers, because the project-delivers have no idea what the next ‘thought bubble project’ will be.
  
  What should we have? Simple! A 50-year plan that sets out the major infrastructure priorities for the State.
  
  The plan should have bipartisan support, and it should not be subject to election-cycle pork barrelling.
  
  If elected I will work with the numerous industry groups and associations to develop a blueprint of priorities for the government and opposition of the day to commit to. I will give my best endeavours to getting a 50-year infrastructure plan for the State locked away.
  
  Your vote for me will give me the mandate to shame the major parties into just getting this done, for all Western Australians.
• More funding for parent & family support services – giving our kids the best start possible
  Our future as a state lies with our children; in their education, development and overall mental health. To be future contributing members of our community it is of paramount importance that parents and families need as much support as possible to achieve this outcome.
  
  Sadly, many parents today are having a tough time making ends meet, and society has many issues that make bringing up healthy and educated children harder. Domestic violence, drug addiction and associated crime, together with limited income families all contribute on the downside.
  
  There is plenty of upside of course, and it is easy to draw negatively on the problems in our community. However, if the parents and children in difficult positions can be given a helping hand, then we should do this. It can be as simple as additional funding for playgroups specifically targeting vulnerable children, teen parents or parents struggling with emotionally supporting their families. Allowing interaction with each other and with trained counsellors is a step in the right direction. This is what great not for profit organisations such as Kwinana Early Years’ Service and Ngalla do in the high growth areas of Kwinana, Baldivis and Rockingham.
  
  Well run parent and family support services can give many children and families the best start possible.
  
  As a community we really only get the one chance to get our kids across the line and onto the pathway to becoming productive members of our community.
  
  More services, better directed, less bureaucracy and acknowledgement that the private sector can do a pretty good job in this area will go a long way to giving these kids the leg-up they deserve.