Each week leading up to the election, MyCity Logan will introduce the candidates of one electorate. Each candidate who has announced their intention to nominate for electorates touching the City of Logan has been asked to submit a profile, all of which will be available prior to the election at mycitylogan.com.au. Edited versions are published here. Waterford Macalister takes in Waterford, Beenleigh, Bethania, Edens Landing, Kingston, Holmview, Loganholme, Loganlea, Meadowbrook, Slacks Creek, Tanah Merah and Waterford West. Sitting member is ALP’s Shannon Fentiman.
Name: Kim Miller
Age: 63
Profession: Semi-retired
Website: https://www.facebook.com/kimmiller.PHON/
What makes you a good person to represent the people of Waterford?:
I believe I am well placed to represent the people of Waterford, having lived in the area for 32 years and raised four children here. In the last 20 years of State Labor Government, we have seen huge increases in our cost of living expenses, as well as charges and taxes to businesses. This affects many struggling families in our area and will only be addressed by the defeat of the current Labor Government. I will fight for Waterford to get more funding for infrastructure, to fight our rising crime and unemployment rates, and to support more local jobs.
What are the three key issues in your electorate and how will you address them?
Education: We need to get back to basics for our children to have the knowledge and skills for the jobs of tomorrow. This includes:
- More funding for state schools for resources and to elevate maintenance backlogs.
- Overhaul the current education syllabus to focus on reading, writing and arithmetic, not Safe Schools syllabus, gender fluidity and alarmist politics.
- Get our youth ready for the job market.
- Ensure children with learning disabilities are identified early and given adequate assistance.
We have schools in Waterford that only exist because of P&C fundraising. I pledge to donate the majority of my sitting member’s allowance of $70,000 to schools and charities in Waterford in elected.
Local Jobs and Businesses: Youth unemployment is at 20% in Waterford under Labor. I will create jobs, and in turn reduce crime, by:
- Establishing a local industry hub similar to Yatala.
- Helping existing businesses and start-ups seek funding.
- Reducing red tape so it is easier to start and run a business.
- Focusing on manufacturing and the ‘Buy Australian Made’ policy.
- Encouraging government in ‘Buy Local, Support Small Business’ strategy, in consultation with the local Chamber of Commerce.
- Delivering shovel ready projects in Waterford to stimulate the local economy post COVID-19.
Law and Order: Break-ins, car thefts, assaults, drug crime and child abuse are surging. Waterford voters have a right to feel safe in their homes and know their children are safe. I will keep the public safe by:
- Increasing resources to tackle the surge, including in relation to child safety.
- Fighting for changes to Labor’s ‘Catch and Release’ Youth Justice Act.
- Removing the youth detention houses in Waterford.
- Establishing a child sex offender register for Queensland (Labor has voted against this policy).
- Creating drug rehabilitation facilities from the proceeds of drug crimes.
- Ensuring the sentence fits the crime.
Name: Ben Olsen (MPA)
Age: 44
Profession: Hydraulic fitter
What makes you a good person to represent the people of your electorate?
Name: Shannon Fentiman (ALP)
Age: 36
Profession: Member of Parliament. Previously an employment lawyer.
Website: https://www.shannonfentiman.com/
What makes you a good person to represent the people of your electorate?
I’m proud of my record fighting for and delivering for our Waterford community.
I’ve worked alongside Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to help keep Queenslanders safe during the global coronavirus pandemic. We’ve managed the health response so well and now we’re focussed on growing and supporting jobs.
We have an economic recovery plan that is all about backing our Waterford small businesses to keep their doors open and keep employing locals.
I will continue to work with our community on the issues that matter. Together we’ve delivered safer roads, better school facilities, huge investment in Logan hospital and unprecedented support for our local businesses.
What are the three key election issues in your electorate and how will you address them? (300 words or less):
Jobs and skills go hand in hand and now more than ever it is so important we can support more people into training and into jobs. I will continue to fight for
more investment in our local TAFE and I’m proud we are supporting young people in Waterford to get a head start through our Free TAFE for year 12 graduates, Free Apprenticeships for under 21s and our Skilling Queenslanders for Work program.
Safer roads across our community is a key priority for me. Already we have delivered safety upgrades to the Kingston Road and Loganlea Road intersection which is one of the worst red light running spots in Logan. We’re also investing $2.3B into the M1 from Brisbane to the Gold Coast which will also support more local jobs during construction.
The health and wellbeing of our local families and residents has been and will continue to be a key focus of mine. During the pandemic we saw the Premier take a strong stand on our borders to keep us safe and as a result we have been able to get back to business sooner. The Logan Hospital has seen a record investment of more than $460 million for over 200 extra beds, new maternity services and a new dedicated mental health unit. Our hardworking health workers do a fantastic job in keeping the community safe and healthy. I will continue to fight for more health services in our growing community.
Name: Andrew Caswell (LNP)
Age: 36
Profession: Customer service engineer
Website: www.andrewcaswell.com.au
What makes you a good person to represent the people of your electorate?:
My wife and I have lived in the Waterford electorate for seven years, over that time we’ve been working and raising three cheeky, energetic young children and I want to make our community even better for the future.
I’m not a career politician, but I’m a hard worker. I’ve worked “graveyard” shifts, I’ve worked in warehouses – before the birth of our first son, I’d do both back to back.
I’m proud to be involved with local community organisations and I will always work with our community to deliver better outcomes.
What are the three key election issues in your electorate and how will you address them?:
One major issue for Waterford is unemployment. The local youth unemployment rate is 19.8%, up 2.5% in the last year. In the last week alone we’ve seen what a Federal LNP Government can do to help address this by introducing wage subsidies and incentives for businesses to hire young people and put on employees, I’m keen to be part of an LNP team that can work with the Morrison Government to help grow jobs and deliver greater opportunities, particularly for young people, in our community.
I’m also passionate about keeping our community safe. Under the Palaszczuk Labor Government, armed robbery is up by 55%, car theft up 57% and assaults up 36%.
Everyone in Waterford has a right to feel safe in their own home and I can promise local people that the LNP will stop Labor’s crimewave in its tracks.
The LNP would launch a crackdown on youth crime with tougher laws, 24/7 monitoring of offenders on bail and mandatory jail terms for third convictions.
The LNP has also made an incredibly important commitment to major child-safety reforms to deliver a new public child sex offender register.
Lastly, after knocking on doors and meeting more people across Waterford I’ve consistently heard about the ongoing issues with local roads and rail.
After years of Labor taking this area for granted, I’m the person who will fight for better support and investment than we’ve seen from this tired state government.
The LNP has a game-changing plan to build the roads, highways, dams and bridges we need. Not only will this help bust congestion and help people get home sooner and safer, it will also support thousands of jobs and help us drag Queensland out of this recession.
The Greens are represented by Lachlan Smart.
There is an independent candidate Lanai Carter.
We will post both their profiles if/when they arrive.
