THIS year’s state election will take place on Saturday, March 28, and the Singleton Local Government is included in two electorates – Upper Hunter and Cessnock.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Upper Hunter covers most of the area with Cessnock taking in the southern portion around Branxton, Pokolbin, Belford and sections of Whittingham.
The election will be of great interest due to the retirement of long-serving Upper Hunter MP George Souris.
Five candidates have come forward to contest the seat: Michael Johnsen (The Nationals), John Kaye (Greens), Martin Rush (Country Labor), Lee Watts (Independent) and Richard Stretton (Christian Democratic Party).
In Cessnock, sitting member Clayton Barr is re-contesting the seat with the other candidate being The Nationals’ Jessica-Price Purnell.
UPPER HUNTER
Martin Rush
MARTIN Rush was born and has lived and worked his entire life in country NSW.
In 1999, he moved to Muswellbrook as a solicitor in private practice mainly working in legally aided family and criminal law. He has been a barrister since 2004 working in health, industrial and mining law. Since 2008 he has been Muswellbrook’s mayor.
Martin was the driving force behind the introduction of a royalties for regions scheme in NSW, the establishment of real time air quality monitoring in the Upper Hunter and the placement of Department of Planning compliance officers in Singleton.
As mayor of Muswellbrook, he has overseen the resealing or reconstruction of 50 per cent of the shire’s roads. He has also been a strong force behind the introduction of additional education resources in the Upper Hunter including the construction of a residential student college and a joint TAFE/university campus.
As a barrister, Martin has been actively involved in public interest advocacy, including the Newcastle pubs case and in representing Gold Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist Joanne McCarthy in the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Catholic Diocese of Maitland Newcastle concerning claims of cover-up of historical child abuse cases.
Martin has a positive and strong plan for the Upper Hunter.
He will continue to fight against the replacement of mining workforces with casual and contracted labour.
He will build productivity in the coal industry and use the enormous wealth the coal industry unlocks to build resilience and diversity in our local economy.
He will fight for a strong TAFE and vocational education sector, new and innovative industries, and improved health services.
Richard Stretton
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 a wife and two 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.
The primary issue to the Singleton area at the moment (other than the mining downturn) I believe to be the continuation of the hunter expressway to bypass Singleton and ultimately continued through to the Murrurundi pass, as finances permit.
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 Kaye
I LIVE and work in the Upper Hunter with my wife Kathleen.
We raised our family in the Denman district and live on a property not far from Denman.
Denman is our base and we have, over the years, established businesses here.
My careers include teaching Mathematics and Information Technology VET at High School, in the public service managing database systems, and running a small business in viticulture and training. Presently I work as an office manager in a small legal practice.
Several years ago I started the Keep Denman Coal Mine Free campaign in response to two coal exploration licences being granted on either side of my home town Denman. This campaign introduced me to community campaigning.
Since moving to Denman in 1997, I have been an active volunteer in my community, from being a registered rescue operator in the Volunteer Rescue Association to president of the Denman and District Development Association.
I have a vision for a cleaner and sustainable future for our community, Australia and the world.
Lee Watts
I’VE never wanted to be part of a political party, much less represent one.
I am running as an independent candidate because I want to represent local people, not a political party: For People, Not Parties.
Like many people I was frustrated with political parties not listening and taking our community for granted.
I’ve worked in community services my whole life and I’ve seen first-hand the services and infrastructure being eroded in our communities.
For the past nine years, I’ve been on the Upper Hunter Shire Council as a Councillor, deputy mayor and mayor.
I’ve enjoyed getting things done for the community, but many bigger decisions are happening at the state level and that’s where we need better representation.
I don’t believe N-S-W stands for Newcastle-Sydney-Wollongong, but that is where both major political parties send our money.
We generate huge wealth for this state and it’s time we had our fair share.
Our community deserves more police to feel safe, our families deserve the same nursing care as a city patient; we deserve the basic services and infrastructure and have been stripped away.
Both parties have had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing and have not done enough.
If we want a different result, we need to do something different on election day.
Michael Johnsen
MY wife Zenda and I have been living in the Upper Hunter since we were married, 29 years ago.
Our children Ben and Lucy are now developing their own careers and we have two grandchildren Willow and Ned, who will also want stability and opportunity as they grow.
I came to the area as a dairy hand and have since grown a successful small business as a financial planner, working with families to help them achieve the financial security to lead the lives they choose.
It takes hard work, commitment and passion to ensure we can achieve the lifestyle we want for ourselves and our children.
This is the philosophy I have lived my life by and it is why I am committed to representing Upper Hunter in State Parliament; to give back to the community, which has given our family so much.
I believe that, job security and opportunities, and coexistence are the big issues for this election, as are the health, education and community services and infrastructure that good government provides.
The Upper Hunter deserves a representative in the government that listens, is passionate and capable; who will take a common sense approach and be truly accountable for their actions.