I thought it important to give the voters of Page a rationale for why I’ve put my self up for election. There are some reasons why it is a bad idea and I’m sure my opponents will raise them so best I do it myself.
- I’m new to the area, don’t know many people, don’t know the issues!
True; however it could also be of great benefit, I have no preconceptions about local issues nor do I have affiliations based on history, family or industry and can therefore deliberate ‘without prejudice’ for the people of Page. The issues can be learn’t, quickly I believe, and a fresh set of eyes on them and a big dose of common sense might be just what is needed to get some answers to them. I’m a good listener and will always be open to hear what people are saying.
- Palmer United is a fledgling party and can’t be taken seriously.
I was probably in this category (actually I was also a Liberal Party member) when I first saw the news about Clive Palmer. However instead of only listening to the media I did a bit of research about the man and what he stood for. Yes he is a larger than life character, but he’s built his empire from scratch and he is as ‘true blue’ as you will find. Clive Palmer needs this like the proverbial ‘hole in the head’, but he’s doing it “because it’s the right thing to do“. I liked what he was saying and the policy on the Palmer United website palmerunited.com so much that I thought I’d make contact and in fact indicated I could be prepared to run as a candidate (what was I thinking?). When Clive rang me personally a couple of days later I was ‘sold’ and here I am.
There is no way that Palmer United Party can now be considered ‘minor’, we will field candidates in all 15o lower house seats and senate candidates in every state and territory. Not bad for a party just over 6 weeks old and is really, I believe, a testimony to what Clive Palmer can and will do. We could govern and a Palmer United government would get on with the job and do it quickly, we’ve already shown what we can do.
My reasons for running:
I’ve always been interested in politics and had thought ‘one day’ I might have a go; I joined the Liberal Party when we moved into the area in September last year but that was a bit of a frustrating experience.
The connection with Palmer United was just one of those moments I guess, a confluence of events, what Clive said made sense to me and I thought to myself I can whinge and complain about the current state of politics like many others or I can do something about it; I can be a part of the answer or a part of the problem. So I put up my hand, after gaining the support of my wife and family of course!
I was as surprised, as perhaps many of you are reading this, that Palmer United chose me as there endorsed candidate, but they did and now this journey begins!
Probably the other major contributing factor to my decision was how difficult business is, having just started a new business and having invested our life savings doing so we have found the economic climate makes things quite difficult. There is not a lot of confidence in the market place by and large and many are doing things tough, in business and in life i think. Small business employs 60 -70% of the workforce in Australia but is largely forgotten by both political parties, I’d like to see that change? I really believe that prospering small business, particularly in regional areas is vital to this nation and will be working as hard as I can for initiatives and policy in that regard.
I know there is an incredible amount to learn and in a really short time, but I’m a quick learner and a good listener, I’ll fight tooth and nail to not become a ‘politician’ but will always strive to be a relatable and responsive representative for the constituents of Page.
Steve Janes
steve janes for page 