MEET THE CANDIDATES – HUNTER

RUTH ROGERS – THE NATIONALS

Married for 38 years to Alan. Ruth Has called Singleton Home for 30 years arriving in Singleton in 1986 with the ARMY .Ruth has 3 Children Karen, James and Mark and 6 grandchildren 2 of which suffer from Cystic Fibrosis . Karen and James both Married Local partners and have settled in the Hunter. Mark who served just on 10 years in Infantry and served in Timor Leste, Iraq and Afghanistan and is now settled on the Sunshine Coast.

Served on Local Government for 7 years winning her seat in 2009 in a bi Election.

Ruth was also Citizen of the Year in 2009 for her commitment to the Community in Scouting.

Ruth Decided to run for the seat of Hunter as she has a Passion for her community and Regional and Rural issues and to give the Voters a Choice and to maintain a National Presence within the Region.

Ruth is a strong believer in the sustainability of her Region, both in economic growth for larger industry but also Agriculture and Small Business Sector. She is also a strong believer in listening to the constituents and representing them on Rural and Regional Issues.

It is Regional issues of infrastructure, Fair gate pricing for the dairy industry, maintaining Local lobs within the Region. Assist the Vignerons with in the area to abolish the wet tax that is imposed on them and assist in the Hunter Tourism alliance to really put the Hunter on the Map. Mining is a major resource with in the Valley and we need to maintain them to ensure the economy of the region. I believe that with mining we can co-exist and making the region even stronger. Support for the School of Infantry and to ensure they are a permanent facility within the area as they are important to the growth and sustainability. Lastly addressing the lack of Mental Health facilities and support in the Region, especially in Adolescence, Front Line Services, and Returned Veterans both past and present campaigns and the serving Members.

JOHN HARVEY – INDEPENDENT

I took an interest in local politics and ran as a candidate in the 1981 State election in NSW. What followed was a term as federal director of the National Party. My first job was to plan the Party’s Federal Election campaign in 1983.

After the election a month long trip to the USA sponsored by the USA Government help me to get some idea of what this whole government thing was all about.

I returned to Australian with this new knowledge dying to use it. A job with Andrew Peacock as his political adviser gave me that opportunity. My first job was to plan his program for the 1984 Federal election. This was the first election were everything was planned to the last minute, every speech was written by a team of writers and every word had been checked and re checked.

Nick Greiner’s State Campaign in 1988 was my first experience in putting together promises we needed to implement. It was all really about “building a better NSW. As his program director for the campaign it was my job to match the promises with pictures you would see on the nightly news.

The real fun came after winning the election when it was our job to deliver the promises. Not only did we need to get the paper work through State Parliament and find the money, we needed to take on a bigger task than winning – the NSW public service.

I see the major issues as finding employment for those unemployed – and I mean real jobs to make the Hunter a better place.

Developing an integrated health care system base on community education, medical research and the development of more effective treatment options and the delivery of affordable and accessible health services.

Developing and maintaining an education system that provides the basic skills of spelling, writing and mathematics and the teaching of Australian History and Health skills compulsory.

JOEL FITZGIBBON – LABOR

The Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP was first elected to the House of Representatives in March of 1996.

During his 20 years as the Member for Hunter Mr Fitzgibbon has held a number of shadow ministerial positions including Mining, Energy & Forestry, Defence, Assistant Treasurer, Banking & Financial Services, Small Business & Competition, and Tourism.

In Government, Mr Fitzgibbon served as Minister for Defence and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

He also served as Chief Government Whip and chaired the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence & Trade.

Mr Fitzgibbon is currently the Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs and says his main passion is raising his portfolio’s profile in the parliamentary and public debate and ensuring Australia has a sound strategic plan to fully capitalise on growing global demand for our high quality food and fibre products.

Mr Fitzgibbon is also the founder of, and spokesperson for the Country Caucus, a group of Federal Labor MPs and Senators dedicated to promoting the interests of rural and regional Australia.

Mr Fitzgibbon lives in Cessnock in the Hunter Valley with his wife Dianne. They have three adult children. He says his priorities at this election are health and Medicare, education, cost of living, jobs and job security.

ARJAY RASE MARTIN – INDEPENDENT

Arjay Martin grew up in the Hunter Valley, from Baerami/Sandy Hollow & Muswellbrook, to Satur and Wyee, Western Lake Macquarie and Newcastle.

32 years old, Arjay works for Australia’s largest private research company, Roy Morgan Research, has a wife from Finland and 2 children.

The Hunter Valley makes 20% of the state’s revenue, has 10% of the state’s population, yet only receives 5% of the state’s spending.  This occurred due in a large part to having safe seats, with no incentive for either party to spend money in the area at a state or federal level.  The seat of Hunter is a safe Labor seat, where the majority of voters (up until now) have voted for whatever candidates have been put forward by Labor. Likewise, Liberal governments do not want Labor voters to be comfortable in safe Labor seats, as that is just ‘rewarding the enemy’. Both Liberal and Labor governments have a huge incentive to provide extra resources in the area if either an independent is elected (think of Tony Windsor and the NBN fiber-to-the-home internet) or if it is a marginal seat with them trying to ‘buy votes’.

We should not have a ‘back packer tax’ and should remove much of the unnecessary red tape. Multinationals generating revenue in Australia should pay tax in Australia.

I am the only Candidate this election who fought against Lake Macquarie’s massive rate rise (90% for business rates, 70% for residential rates, over 7 years), and along with Jim Sullivan, made the full rate rise not possible. I forced the Cameron Park roundabout to finally be built, a place where more than one car accident was occurring each day. I campaigned for the Wyee sewer to finally be built, after decades of false promises. It will now be built next year.  I achieved all of this without even being elected – imagine what I can do for you once I am.

PETER MORRIS – THE GREENS

I am a retired TAFE teacher and have lived in the Lower Hunter for most of my life. I have been active for many years on regional conservation of bushland and other environmental matters and I’ve broadened my interest to the many social justice issues facing us.

I contributed a significant effort to the successful campaign against a proposed open cut mine between Awaba and Cooranbong. More recently I took a leadership role in the successful campaign against a proposed open cut auger mine near Blackalls Park that would have posed a dust related health risk to 70,000 people living within 10km.

I took a leadership role in the protection and restoration of significant areas of bushland around Lake Macquarie, particularly Lake Macquarie State Conservation Area and Green Point Foreshore Reserve. My interest in conservation necessarily led to an interest in politics and to a cynicism about how governments set priorities. Too often we are fed the notion of environment versus economy and I just don’t believe that. I believe in well-planned development and in protecting our assets against short-sighted short-term exploitation, particularly when the profits go overseas.

With coal mining now in decline in the Hunter I want to see new jobs in clean industries – particularly renewable energy. I was pleased to participate in the recent launch of the Greens’ Jobs Plan for the Hunter, which outlines how this will be done. I proud that the Greens have the best policy on climate change – an achievable 90% renewables by 2030.

I want to help stop Australia’s current drift away from our traditional values of compassion and a “fair go.”
Inthis election I want to promote the most important issues, maximize the Green vote in the Hunter electorate and support for our Senate candidates.

RICHARD STRETTON – CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FRED NILE GROUP)

Hi to all my fellow members of the Hunter community. I thank you all for this opportunity to present my political position and views to you and hope that they may be seen as a position of common sense in a political landscape that I believe is dearly lacking in common sense. Firstly I am a plant mechanic by trade and operate my own business in field mechanical repairs, based in Singleton. As such I know first-hand the issues of red tape and excessive requirements placed on employers in relation to employing people. For this reason I and other employers simply do not employ people unless absolutely necessary. That is not the way that it should be.

I have 1 wife and 2 children (Sarah and Joshua) who have both grown up in Singleton. I see family values and stability of the nuclear family as critical to the future of this nation and the government should do much more to support the family unit. I believe that if we have strong families we will have a strong future.

The primary issue to the Upper Hunter at the moment (other than the mining downturn) I believe to be the continuation of the hunter expressway to Scone and ultimately continued through to the Murrurundi pass, as finances permit.

I believe we need a strong patriotic leader in Canberra to stop the sale of Australian assets and to keep manufacturing in Australia. The only way to real jobs and growth.

If you would like to see Christian values and the corresponding common sense to be better represented in the political arena, please vote 1 Richard Stretton followed by the party of your choice.

JOHN WARHAM – INDEPENDENT

John is the son of a nurse who raised six children on her own. He studied at Newcastle Boys High School then initially worked in heavy industry at Mayfield West before putting himself through university; studying Maths at Newcastle and Psychology at Macquarie. John now has degrees in Psychology, Theology, a Masters Degree in Ancient History and a Graduate Diploma in Education.

John’s psychology interests initially led to work with homeless youth – through Allambie; the Ryde Youth Accommodation Service and Juvenile Justice. Changing tack in his late twenties, John ran a building products importing business, while also helping establish a Triathlon store in Parramatta. After success in these fields, John accepted a vocation in the Uniting Church, serving at Charlestown, Whitebridge and Garden Suburb; as Chaplain at the John Hunter Hospital; and at Merewether for 10 years, where he helped establish a Community Kitchen, Play Groups and other supportive networks.

John was the Heads of Churches nominee to the Hunter New England Health Research Ethics Committee, from 2002 until late 2011.  He assessed proposed medical research for its ethical and scientific merit.

After taking a break from his Church and Community leadership roles in 2013, John started another successful business, offering property management and maintenance services. John is also a qualified teacher, teaching History, French and Maths on a casual basis; because he says, “It keeps me young”. John is the Secretary of the Toronto Brass Band, is married to a local School Principal and has three teenage children.

John enters politics because he sees problems with the major parties approach to the region, “I have positive, fresh, new ideas in health, education and business, but all I see from the parties is the same old, same old. We deserve better” he says.

CORDELIA TROY – INDEPENDENT