We’ve run out of time. We need leadership, vision and a more ambitious climate plan.
Our political system isn’t broken, but it’s stopped working for us. After ten years and seven prime ministers we need to close this chapter and move forward.
Parliament needs renewal with a new generation of collaborative leaders who are more comfortable in a complex world and equipped to cut through competing priorities.
That’s why I resigned from KPMG, one of the Big Four global consultancy firms, to run as an Independent in the 2019 federal election.
Governing is hard. I know that first-hand. I’ve spent almost 20 years in public service and served prime ministers and premiers, both Labor and Liberal.
I advised on complex issues, including regional economic development, city planning and infrastructure; and I negotiated solutions to problems which cut across sectors, ministers and all levels of government.
For example, ‘City Deals’ are a new approach I helped pioneer with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The Western Sydney City Deal brought all three levels of government together to create a shared investment plan for a fast-growing community that was falling behind.
It’s about making life better for people so that they participate and prosper in the new economy.
Stealing the future
When it comes to major national and global problems, such as climate change, we expect governments to work together in the public interest. Instead, the major parties are playing political football with the lives of our children.
They’ve failed to adopt meaningful responses to this existential challenge. Emissions keep rising. We are stealing the future from our children.
Politicians must step out from behind partisan battlelines and serve the national interest. We’ve run out of time. We need leadership, vision and a more ambitious climate plan, one that industry can get behind and deliver on. We must return the prospect of a better future to our kids.
Policy paralysis
My experience working in the centre of government confirmed that getting things done involves listening, trust, patient respect, diplomacy and compromise – or you risk the kind of policy paralysis we’ve experienced over the past decade.
I’m in a working family raising two kids in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. I care about this community and want to make it even better. But the very things that make the Beaches a great place are under threat from poor planning and coordination, outdated infrastructure and heavy congestion. Added to that is the prospect of petroleum exploration just off our shores.
As a ‘safe’ Liberal seat, Mackellar is ignored and will continue to be taken for granted which ever major party wins government. An Independent like me, who knows Canberra well and is well known there, has a better chance of fighting for our electorate.
Renew politics
Disappointment with the Liberal party is palpable. People are fed up with the state of Australian politics and frustrated with not being listened to. Voters here know they have another option they’ve turned to before – Independents.
In Canberra, we’ve seen a growing and emboldened crossbench break deadlocks and keep government accountable, driving better policy on issues that matter to their constituents. I’ve been part of crossbench negotiations. I know how to negotiate funding for local projects and get the ear of the prime minister and their cabinet.
Mackellar voters tell me they want someone to report to them – not to a political party and its donors. That’s what an Independent like me offers. I can help renew politics.
Do you have specific policies you would advocate for?