CAP CANDIDATES FOR 2016 ACT ELECTION

MICHAEL LINDFIELD

 

On Saturday 15 October 2016 you will have an important decision to make.  You will be voting for candidates to represent you in the ACT Legislative Assembly.

I am standing as a candidate for the Community Alliance Party, Canberra's fourth oldest political party. I want to represent you in the new Electorate of Murrumbidgee. If I am elected, my pledge is to ensure:

* the ACT government is accountable to you;
* your rates, taxes and charges are not wasted on fanciful undertakings;
* political stability by allowing the government to pass its budget following a community consultation processes; and
* support more community participation in the decision making on matters of public importance.

I have a strong record of positive community involvement for over 25 years. I have led many local non-profit community groups, sporting and small business. I am trusted and respected. I deliver tangible outcomes for my community. My community achievements include introducing Canberra's first Community Bank branches at Calwell and Wanniassa and laid the foundations to include Curtin. This community driven commercial initiative:

* created local employment opportunities with salaries in excess of $500,000 remaining in the community;
* re-introduced of face-to-face and over-the-counter customer services;
* personalised branch manager services;
* returned school banking and passbook accounts; and
* increased business activity and growth/investment at suburban hubs.

I also chaired a community group alliance - the Tuggeranong Community Council, Valley FM, the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, Lake Tuggeranong College, The Vikings Group, and Communities@Work - to persuade the ACT and Federal governments to design, fund and construct an outdoor performing stage in Tuggeranong Town Park.

As the immediate past President of Tuggeranong Festival (serving a record ten years), I led it through a growth period of increasing community group participation levels from 30 to over 65 groups, stallholder participation from 12 to over 95 and sponsors from 15 to over 30. The Festival is a respected annual free-to-the community family event which carries the motto of bringing the community together.

As Convener of Brindabella Residents' Group, I have made submissions to the ACT Land Development Agency on the future planning of the Woden Town Centre to make it a vibrant and revitalised town centre with adequate facilities and services, eg. an art gallery.

The ACT election in October 2016 is all about you and your needs and expectations of your elected representatives. Please, let me be part of making where we choose to live a better and more enriched, informed and empowered community.

For further information:

https://lindfield4murrumbidigee2016@wordpress.com

 

NANCY-LOUISE SCHERGER

Candidate Profile

Nancy-Louise has post-graduate qualifications in social administration and has just completed Doctorate research comparing the evidence-base of economic and social wellbeing legislation, reflecting her personal and professional commitment to the integrity and accountability of our government.

Nancy-Louise has run her own successful small business and has extensive Public Service experience. She and her family transferred from Melbourne to Canberra in 2000 and she quickly became part of a number of community groups concerned that people were being excluded from local decisions affecting their daily lives. She believes that community consultation must be undertaken prior to decisions, rather than selling predetermined outcomes to the electorate.

As a founding Community Alliance Party member Nancy-Louise believes in honest, transparent and responsible Government that models ethical principled behaviour. She says that the track record of people who have held power is evidence of their performance and that the competitive, divisive and grandiose spending promises of some candidates serve as clear warnings to be rejected. She urges you to vote for the Community Alliance Party, and the two CAP-endorsed Independents (Marea Fatseas and David Pollard) to give voice to the community so that we all can have input to Government decisions and challenge governance that does not improve the way we live today and into the future.

Nancy-Louise welcomes contact by CAP email and phone 0418 951 428.

 

CAP PRINCIPLES

Accountability

Problem: The mainstream parties are not open and accountable. Recent changes in campaign finances allow vested interests to pay for political influence to the disadvantage of the wider community.
Solution: We will hold the major parties to account and keep them honest. We will initiate legislation that repeals the expanded provision for campaign contributions. We will legislate for an ACT corruption watchdog with the power to address sleaze, maladministration and cronyism which are rife in ACT government.

Administration

Problem: ACT quality of life is affected by government neglect. Waterways are polluted, suburban shopping centres are run down, and sporting ovals are overgrown. Outsourced services are often expensive, inefficient and unaccountable.
Solution: We will improve the quality of government services by ensuring that wasteful spending, mismanaged projects and corrupt practices are targeted. We will ensure that outsourcing is kept to a minimum.

Vulnerable groups

Problem: Vulnerable groups in the ACT do not receive sufficient resources.
Solution: We will ensure that essential services and facilities for the aged, the mentally and physically unwell, people with disabilities, women fleeing domestic violence, the homeless, fixed income retirees and other similar groups of people are adequately financed. We will prioritise such spending over expensive or unnecessary government projects such as a new sports stadium, light rail, or public art.

Education

Problem: Public schools are not adequately funded compared to private schools in the ACT.
Solution: We will ensure that all schools are funded equally, whether private or public. We will not close local public schools when student numbers are low. We will not sell off empty school sites to developers, but will ensure that they are kept as a resource for the local community and wider ACT electorate.

Law and order

Problem: Putting offenders in jail perpetuates criminality.
Solution: To prevent criminal acts, we will intervene at the community level to steer young people into socially acceptable pursuits. When offenders end up in court, we will ensure that magistrates and judges have flexibility in sentencing with an emphasis on keeping young offenders and perpetrators of victimless crimes in the community rather than sending them to jail.

Population

Problem: The ACT has reached its maximum carrying capacity. Because of overpopulation we already have water restrictions, less affordable housing, rush hour traffic jams, disappearing green space, longer queues for health services, increased pollution and declining biodiversity.
Solution: We will pursue better planning, more efficient land use and strict limits on urban expansion. Some areas may be earmarked for urban infill, but only where this has the support of the local community and environmental concerns are addressed.

Sport and recreation

Problem: Sporting facilities are not properly maintained by the government. There are insufficient facilities in the ACT to cater for a variety of sports, for example motor racing.
Solution: We will ensure the proper upkeep of sporting facilities. We are opposed to the redevelopment of land originally gifted to sports clubs by the community. We will develop a multipurpose motor racing facility which does not impact on residential areas.

Transport

Problem: The bus service is underutilised which is discourages the government to provide better services. Canberrans rely on private transport which causes pollution and traffic jams in peak hours.
Solution: The answer is not to build more roads. We will establish a service which is a cheaper, more efficient, and a viable alternative to private transport. We will introduce incentives for car-pooling. We will develop more bike paths and increase park and ride facilities to complement the bus service. We do not agree with investing heavily in current transport technologies which are being superseded by more efficient and flexible options like driverless electric buses.