ALL five candidates for the seat of Upper Hunter have committed to making the Bucketts Way a State-significant road if elected next month.
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Each of the candidates pledged to do their part to secure State government funding for the Bucketts Way and Thunderbolts Way and end the drain on council finances if they won office.
Nationals MP Michael Johnsen declared the Bucketts Way-Thunderbolts Way route the “main vein for tourism” in the region, while independent Lee Watts said Gloucester would not be able to attract the infrastructure it needed to prosper without the road being reclassified.
Labor’s Martin Rush said the reclassification of the road came down to “a question of equity”.
The Gloucester Bowling Club auditorium was full to overflowing for Advance Gloucester’s meet the candidates night last Wednesday with local government, education, the environment, aged care, agriculture and the economy all discussed at length.
However, there was only brief mention from candidates on the divisive issue of coal seam gas with few choosing to address the issue directly.
Questions from the floor were also light-on, with only a handful coming from audience members.
Each candidate was permitted five minutes to speak about themselves and their policies before questions from the floor.
The candidates were then presented with five questions from the Advance Gloucester board on funding for the Bucketts Way, council amalgamations, employment in Gloucester, aged care and the candidates’ commitment to the district.
Christian Democrats candidate Richard Stretton opened proceedings and spoke about his experiences as a small business owner.
He spoke passionately about the future direction of the country and said governments had effectively destroyed the key industries of manufacturing and agriculture in the past 50 years and needed to turn away from a big business mindset.
Nationals candidate Michael Johnsen said he would “stand up for his electorate” and not be governed by party politics if elected, pledging to “fight” for his constituents.
Asked about coal seam gas, Mr Johnsen said it was critical any decision should be based on facts and science.
Greens candidate John Kaye said his party was committed to acting on climate change.
He said it was time the country focused on moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy and greater support for industries such as agriculture.
Mr Kaye said he was opposed to coal seam gas and any new coal mines in the Hunter as well as privatisation of public assets such as electricity infrastructure.
Lee Watts, said as an independent candidate, she was “only interested in representing the local people”.
Ms Watts said the Upper Hunter and Gloucester had been neglected for too long by both sides of politics.
She promised to focus on policies that suited individual communities with the aim of attracting new industries to the region.
Ms Watts also spoke on the issue of coal seam gas, slamming the industry for its lack of transparency and accountability, stating she would not support the “coal seam gas industry unless it has earned the trust of the community”.
Labor’s Martin Rush spoke about the need for Gloucester and the Upper Hunter to benefit more from the extractive resources industry, declaring more money should be “put back into the communities to build resilience in our economy”.
He said education would lead to improved productivity, high wages and greater consumption in Gloucester and said agriculture and aged care would be important industries going forward.
Gloucester and Upper Hunter residents head to the polls on March 28.