You can view our question list for all candidates here.
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Independent Senate candidate for QLD, Peter Pyke, responded :
PETER PYKE SENATE CANDIDATE FOR QUEENSLAND
ELECTION POLICIES
Peter Pyke is a Senate candidate for Queensland and a former-State MP whose name appears near the bottom of the long list of individual candidates below the line on the Senate ballot paper. Peter does not have ‘Independent’ after his name on the ballot paper because he represents the new but, as yet, unregistered centre party, Republican Democrats.
The Republican Democrats Inc. launched nationally on 22 June 2010 so the announcement of the Federal Election closed off registration processes. The new party is also fielding two Senate candidates in New South Wales, Aboriginal Elder Michael Anderson (Eckford on the ballot paper) and Community Worker Criselee Stevens.
The Republican Democrats got together because they saw that the old left-right, class-warfare, chest-bumping politicking of the past no longer serves our nation well, nor does the limited single-issue focus of the Greens who seem more like an ALP far-left faction with a scary social-engineering agenda.
Peter Pyke is passionate about the future of our country
– he sees a potential for Australia to become a world Super Power;
a leading nation in our global village for all the right reasons!
Peter wants Australians to share his passion and get excited, too!
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will use his passion and belief in the future of our wonderful country and the Australian people to inspire others to adopt his ‘big-picture’ approach and follow his positive lead in having a nation-building attitude to all aspects of what he sees as our country’s truly thrilling potential.
Peter wants to see a return to innovation and a ‘can do’ style to make our nation a world-beater in every possible way.
Peter Pyke believes in common-sense and a fair go.
Peter says he thinks Australians want politicians to lead and to engage in nation-building and he’d like the chance to play a part in awakening our nation to the opportunities that exist for Australia to become a super-power in terms of agriculture and food production, arts, banking, clean energy technologies, communications, democracy, education, ethics, finance, IT, industrial and international relations, law, niche manufacturing, sustainable mining, transport and tourism.
And Peter is no pushover! He’s been up a few dry gullies. Check out Peter Pyke’s biography.
Here are the Election Policies of Queensland Senate candidate Peter Pyke and his responses to questions put to him by lobby groups in this Federal election campaign:
ABORTION
Peter Pyke is not pro-abortion, instead he is pro-choice; he supports a woman’s right to choose.
ASYLUM SEEKERS
Peter supports the rights of refugees to seek asylum. He believes a nation which aspires to be a world-leader can only adopt a humane and courageous approach to refugees. He understands that most refugees make great citizens and hard workers.
Peter supports onshore processing and the rapid release into the community of asylum seekers who have been screened, particularly families and children.
Peter Pyke wants to see our nation run by politicians who have the courage to make the morally right decisions and to lead our nation – not just pander to the lowest common denominator or fringe group.
Peter says we should leapfrog the asylum seeker problem and take more refugees from the source of those who arrive by boat, to eliminate the need for desperate people to take the risks they do, as was done with Vietnamese refugees by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, whom he honours for this.
Peter wants to see refugees treated humanely and with compassion, although thoroughly screened, and those who are not genuine refugees repatriated immediately.
Peter Pyke wants to see refugees placed into supportive regional communities where that is possible and he would like to see all immigrants sign a binding contract agreeing to accept our system of law, the division between church and state, and the equality of women and men.
This latter condition should have consequences and be included in our Constitution, Peter says, which raises the issue of a Republic.
Peter Pyke wants our clever country to become a republic, with a new Constitution which sets out honourable entitlements for First Australians as well as enshrines a secular spirit and establishes a shared vision for our future.
BILL OF RIGHTS
Peter Pyke wants to see Australia adopt a Bill of Rights. He sees this as an important step towards the creation of the fairest possible society, especially at a time when fundamental rights we have taken for granted are under threat from constant government intrusion and erosion.
What Peter believes should be included in a Bill of Rights is detailed in the Democratic Platform document published on the Republican Democrats Party’s website.
Check it out at: www.republicandemocrats.org.au
BUSINESS – SMALL POWERHOUSES
Peter Pyke is a small business person himself, so he knows that 96% of businesses in Australia are small businesses and in many cases one-person or one-family businesses.
Peter supports the Coalition’s policy to establish a dedicated advocate for small business (a Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman); to give small business proper representation in Cabinet where it belongs; to give small business a say in taxation with representation on the Board of Taxation; and to get government off the back of small business by a return to common-sense.
Peter understands and is committed to the small business sector. As a Queensland MP, Peter established a Chamber of Commerce in his Mount Ommaney electorate. He is determined to ensure that government makes it easier, not harder, for small business to prosper and grow and to employ more people and provide more services to Australians, all across our country.
If he is elected to the Senate, small business will gain a good friend in Peter Pyke.
CARERS AND THE DISABLED
Peter Pyke understands that nation-building includes establishing high standards for our most vulnerable citizens. Peter knows there are about 2.6 million carers in Australia including young carers who are often children or young people who care for disabled or mentally ill parents. All require far greater support from government including more supported accommodation and respite places.
Much more investment in early intervention for children with disabilities is also required.
Peter Pyke has read the Carers Australia Election Platform which sets out clear actions on how government can take a national and innovative approach to better supporting carers. Peter understands this to include supporting family carers now and into the future, supporting the long-term financial security of family carers and supporting young carers.
Peter supports the Carers Australia Election Platform and will work with carers groups to put in place the positive change that is desperately needed.
CHILDCARE
In a country where we have so much potential and so much agricultural and mineral wealth, too many Australian families are struggling to make ends meet although both parents work. Cost of living demands continually strip families of increases they get from more pay and tax benefits.
Peter Pyke wants to see the quality of childcare improve, as well as better wages and conditions for childcare workers. He knows better standards overall continually drive up the costs of childcare, though.
Both sides of politics seem to be too limited in their approaches to this vital issue. Peter believes an innovative national approach to the provision of childcare must be taken as another element in the big-picture nation-building style of government he insists must be put in place in the next Australian parliament.
Peter wants to see taxation reform to better reflect childcare realities and give families the breaks they need.
Ideally, Peter Pyke would like see an Australia which makes it possible for infants and young children to be cared for at home by one parent until these important little Australians reach school age.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Peter Pyke agrees that climate change is real, our planet is getting hotter, the weather wilder, and life is getting a whole lot more complicated.
What he doesn’t agree with is the: “The sky is falling! Put us in charge!” line being run by the Greens, nor does he agree that a Carbon Tax or ETS is the only answer.
In fact, he argues that a reliance on a Carbon Tax or ETS solution (there is a difference) is potentially disastrous, as for putting the Greens in charge, well!
The Global-Warming Lobby say that all we have to do is change our way of life, introduce a Great Big New Tax on everything and start handing over the money to them, their accountants and foundations. Mmmmm.
Peter Pyke understands why many environmentally conscious people have slammed both major parties for jettisoning plans to price carbon. But he says the politics are very complicated. However much there may be a scientific consensus on man-made global warming, Peter Pyke says, the fact remains no policy or global consensus exists. None whatsoever. Without global consensus, unilateral action to price carbon would inflict great damage on the Australian economy, in terms of higher energy prices, lost jobs and lower growth.
And what if climate change is cyclical, or part-cyclical and part global-warming? And we put all of our eggs in a Carbon Tax or ETS and then we discover it doesn’t work?
Peter Pyke says its time to consider all options. Sure, let’s start the transition to a Pollution-Free Economy which can only achieve the best outcomes for our country and our environment as a whole. How should we do that?
A POLLUTION-FREE ECONOMY BY 2020
Peter Pyke says it’s time for the Australian parliament to implement legislation and policies to transition the re-powering of our economy with 100 per cent renewable or non-polluting energy by 2020.
Concentrated solar thermal power is one renewable energy technology he believes can help Australia make this transition. Solar thermal power stations concentrate the sun’s rays and store this energy as heat, to be used for boiling water day or night. Proving the worth of this technology, a power plant now under construction in Spain will deliver power 24 hours a day with the same base-load production characteristics as a conventional coal plant
A CLIMATE CHANGE COUNCIL
Peter Pyke doesn’t believe good-will and technology are going to be enough to reduce pollution outputs. He wants to see a similar body to the UK’s highly successful prototype- the Committee on Climate Change – which has quickly begun to create a deep consensus in the UK.
The influence of the UK`s committee can be seen already, with it’s recommendations that no new un-abated fossil fuel generators should be built. What makes the committee effective is it’s statutory powers set out in the Climate Change Act – powerful legislation that is the first of its type in the world which gives the committee a degree of authority over the UK government and the legal obligation to chastise the UK parliament on a yearly basis if they do not reduce carbon emissions, and the government must respond.
The UK`s committee is also tasked with setting short-term carbon targets. By establishing milestones that fall within one term of government, the ability of incumbent governments to delay action to a time beyond their tenure is removed.
For Australia to get a similar commission, these elements are critical. Peter Pyke will act to put such a commission in place in Australia.
ADAPTATION
Peter also thinks we must consider the other option – adaptation. Previous generations have adapted to climate change so we can, too, with modest, increased public investment in technological research and development.
Peter Pyke has great faith in Australians to meet these challenges.
DEFENCE
AAA – PROTECTING OUR SOLDIERS
Peter Pyke demands that the Federal Government cease delaying a high-priority project costing just $7.5 million which promises to greatly improve protection for Diggers in Afghanistan.
On 30 July 2010, the Herald Sun revealed that a research project called ‘soldier survivability’ commissioned by the Army had been put on hold because of a lack of financing. The research project is to be run by the Hawthorn-based Defence Materials Technology Centre, and – to their credit – Victorian clothing companies and universities have pledged $13 million to the project.
Documents obtained by the Herald Sun say the project will develop the next generation of body armour to protect soldiers “from a range of threats including improvised explosive devices and directed fire threats”.
Roadside bombs have been responsible for some of the six deaths and injuries suffered by our brave Diggers in Afghanistan in recent weeks.
Peter Pyke says the $7.5 million is chicken feed and further delay is inexcusable.
AFGHANISTAN
Peter Pyke wants our troops home, tomorrow. That’s it.
NAVAL DEFENCE
With Australia embarking on our country’s largest naval warship acquisition program since the Second World War, Peter Pyke believes there are compelling strategic reasons why we should build and maintain our own navy.
Our nation requires warships to maximise our long-term strategic survival. We are an island continent with vast maritime borders to protect. Our proposed naval upgrade involves acquiring a fleet of 47 warships including 12 submarines, 11 major surface combatants, 20 offshore combat ships, two very large amphibious ships, a strategic sealift ship and new supply ship.
Peter Pyke believes it is strategically vital we build these vessels ourselves and maintain our own independent naval shipyards in Australia. As an element in his nation-building style, Peter favours home-grown local construction not just because of the national security considerations of constructing our own vessels but because our own skilled workforce will know our vessels intimately and be ready to quickly maintain, repair or modify them under wartime conditions in our own ports.
This is likely to be Australia’s most expensive peacetime military build-up with costs of naval platforms plus maintenance of these warships through their expected 25-year life cycle calculated to be about $250 billion.
Peter Pyke wants to see these funds spent in Australia not overseas.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
On 6 August 2010, former-Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser published his views on nuclear weapons in The Age. Here is some of what he said:
“The grim reality of nuclear weapons is stark. In an afternoon they could lay waste much of the earth and end human civilisation. The weapons currently held by nine nations are the equivalent of 150,000 times the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima. Even a tiny fraction of the world’s nuclear arsenal exploded on cities in a regional nuclear war on the other side of the world – such as between India and Pakistan, or in the Middle East – would alter the climate for years, devastating agriculture and causing starvation on a scale never seen before.
The danger of nuclear weapons being used by accident or design is growing. They and the means to acquire them – uranium enrichment technology and nuclear reactors – are spreading. If we do not get rid of them, it will only be a matter of time before the weapons are used. We must not allow that to happen.
Dismantling and outlawing nuclear weapons will need a binding, verified global treaty – as is needed to ban dumdum bullets, biological and chemical weapons, landmines and cluster bombs.
I am dismayed that the most critical security threat to Australians – the 22,600 nuclear weapons around the world – has barely rated a mention during the election campaign.”
Peter Pyke applauds Australian Elder and former-PM Malcolm Fraser. If elected to the Senate, Peter will support the former-PM’s work towards a global ban on nuclear weapons.
ECONOMIC REFORM
Capital: Australian CEOs are not confident that Australia’s current approach to infrastructure will meet future needs. They say sourcing capital to fund large-scale infrastructure projects is challenging.
Peter Pyke wants to see this change. The nation-building he wants to see happen is going to require substantial infrastructure to be rolled out. Is a development bank the answer? Peter will take advice on this question.
A Regional Financial Services Hub: Peter believes Australia sits well to be positioned as a regional financial services hub, exporting financial services and skills throughout the Asia Pacific region. If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will act to support this innovation.
Superannuation: Peter Pyke believes increasing the mandatory superannuation guarantee and broadening the availability of superannuation advice are the most important ways to improve the adequacy of retirement savings for all Australians.
Taxation Reform: When his report was publicly released in May, Treasury head Dr Ken Henry made 138 recommendations. Twenty-nine were rejected out-of-hand by Treasurer Wayne Swan in his response, another five recommendations were also ruled out recently by Swan, all five issues going to transparency or accountability.
Peter Pyke believes taxation reform is high on the agenda of most Australians and he wants to see change, particularly that which will provide adequate welfare support to ensure older and disadvantaged Australians and students can lead dignified lifestyles above the poverty line.
Peter is keen to discuss changes to fringe benefits tax to allow companies to provide more resources for workers and traditional owners in remote areas. He also wants to examine the possibility of making childcare costs fully tax-deductible.
EDUCATION POLICY
AAA: PUBLIC V. PRIVATE
Peter Pyke supports the right of Australians to choose between public education or private schooling.
Peter Pyke says all Aussie students deserve a fair go and at the moment not all of them are getting it because the present federal education funding system introduced by the Howard government, and originally due to expire in 2008, delivers only one third of federal funding to public schools which teach two thirds of students.
Under the current system introduced by the Howard government, private schools are funded based on the socio-economic status of the students. Half the nation’s private schools are exempt and receive more money than they should under the formula. Private schools which get the most funding are amongst the richest in the nation.
Research this year by Dr Jim McMorrow, a senior University of Sydney academic, found federal education funding was “unfair and dysfunctional” and should be scrapped. McMorrow found there is already an estimated $12 billion imbalance in Commonwealth funding between the public and private school systems with the private schools receiving the advantage.
Yet Prime Minister Julia Gillard recently overturned Labor’s promise to introduce a new funding system by 2013 and to overhaul the present inequitable system which funds wealthy private schools as well as under-resourced Catholic and state schools.
Peter Pyke in a position of influence in the Australian parliament will act to right this wrong and to ensure that education funding will be properly directed and made on the basis of need.
EMPOWERING PRINCIPALS
As a Queensland MP, Peter Pyke established an Education Council in his electorate which met at least once a semester and helped him develop a close working relationship with all 13 of his principals ranging from a special school to a tertiary campus and across public and private sectors. Peter backs principals and always has.
Peter wants to see principals given the power to hire and fire the teachers they need, build and repair their own buildings and run their own budgets.
CONSULTING EDUCATORS
Mr Pyke believes principals, teachers and their unions must be consulted over change and their opinions valued.
HEALTH
Peter Pyke supports the proposal by the Public Health Association of Australia that the federal government should ‘commit to appropriately resourced Health and Physical Education (HPE) in schools in the first phase of the new Australian Curriculum’.
LESS WASTE
Peter also wants leaner state education departments similar to Catholic education systems which are models of good management compared with their fossilised state counterparts which some observers say are dedicated to the average while stamping on innovation.
PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
Peter Pyke also believes society must work harder to educate parents, to teach them that dads who read to kids and mums who help with homework do as much for their kids as any school can do.
TERTIARY AND TRADE TRAINING
Peter Pyke wants to see all tertiary education and trade training for Australian citizens made available at the lowest cost to students of all ages.
In a position of influence in government, Peter Pyke will act to make quality, public tertiary education and trade training at all levels available at the lowest possible cost or provided free to citizens who want to gain trade or professional qualifications, or later upgrade those skills and qualifications.
Peter Pyke wants Australia to rapidly advance and sees that placing onerous financial impediments in the path of Australians wanting to gain or upgrade skills and qualifications our desperately nation needs is counter-productive.
As well, Peter Pyke knows that many students are doing it too tough – students need allowances which enable them to live at a minimum reasonable standard which is not that of existing below the poverty line on poor diets which are dangerous to their health.
DEMOCRACY
Teachers and students tell Peter they want to see more of an emphasis on teaching our young people about our system of democracy and how politics works. Peter supports this.
CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM
The Labor party has recently pre-empted proper process by announcing further funding of $165 million over three years to continue the National Schools Chaplaincy Program, in the absence of any reliable safeguards to limit the role of school chaplains and without waiting for the outcome of a review of the program commissioned by the government itself.
Peter Pyke, Senate candidate for Queensland, says this is clearly a political decision to keep up with the Coalition and a poor one at that.
Since the establishment of the National Schools Chaplaincy Program in public schools, both the Australian Psychological Association and the Australian Education Union have raised valid concerns about the school chaplaincy program which both organisations say fails to address the real needs of students.
Peter Pyke agrees with the Australian Education Union that the school chaplaincy program undermines the secular traditions of public schools and that what our students really need are qualified school counsellors, psychologists and welfare workers in schools who can meet students’ disparate and complex needs.
The Australian Psychological Association believes that too many unqualified chaplains are working outside of their role of spiritual and religious guidance, posing ‘immense risks to both students and schools which will ultimately result in significant costs both financial and human.’ Peter Pyke agrees.
Peter wants to see government funding directed to proper mental health services in schools which are provided by professionals who are both qualified and registered.
BONUS SCHEMES
Peter Pyke is unimpressed by Labor’s proposed bonus schemes for teachers and schools and agrees with the Australian Education Unions view that: “The idea that a one-off bonus for a limited number of schools from 2013 will make a real difference is misguided at best. Schools cannot engage in long term planning and programming on the basis of bonuses. We need a funding system that properly resources our schools to meet the needs of all students and lift achievement levels.”
“The teacher pay bonus scheme is bad policy and will do nothing to address teacher shortages which affect more than 25 per cent of schools. What we need is a better career structure and a professional pay scheme that further rewards accomplished teachers who are assessed against national teaching standards.
“The fact is, Labor is proposing to invest more on school chaplains than in the teaching workforce…!”
Peter Pyke says what is needed is a plan to tackle the real problems of teacher shortages and under-resourcing that sees more than seven out of ten public schools without the resources necessary to deliver the programs their students need.
If he is elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will continue to be a good friend to educators.
He will fight for a long term plan for education that has at its centre a funding system to properly resource all of our schools to meet the needs of students to lift results and improve equity in education.
ELECTION CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE
Peter Pyke wants to see open and fair campaign funding and disclosure.
ENERGY POLICY
Peter Pyke says energy policy is a glaring failure of previous Australian governments and that the nation-building he wants to go ahead requires innovation and a big-picture methodology.
HOME AND INDUSTRY
For homes and business, as a licensed electrician Peter does not understand why electricity costs keep rising astronomically in a country so rich in coal, gas and solar energy sources. This trend could be reversed, he believes, making our industry far more competitive and stripping away unnecessary financial burdens from families.
As well, Peter believes costs can be kept down by doing more to extend the life of power plants greenies wrongly say must be taken out of service, yesterday.
RENEWABLES
Senate Candidate Peter Pyke is a multi-skilled electrician and IT worker who researches all aspects of energy and communications. It is because of this that Peter Pyke is cautious about the rush by some to embrace what he sees as ‘dated’ renewable technologies without thought of the consequences.
For example, cutting-edge advances in the field of photo-voltaic solar panel construction promises cost reduction to one-fifth of current prices; wind-generators no longer need blades; and researchers now say they can strip all CO2 emissions from smoke-stacks.
Peter Pyke wants to see much more lateral-thinking resulting in planning which includes the need to move to the cleanest energy technologies without destroying our economies. Unlike some, he sees that science is making great strides in the field of both renewable and traditional energy production and does not have a closed mind to undreamed of opportunities in both.
Where others are anchored in the past, or see doom and gloom, Peter Pyke sees exciting opportunities for change and the advancement of humankind.
VEHICLES
Peter Pyke shares the NRMA’s views and wants to see greater uptake of LNG and LPG in vehicles.
Peter would also like to see greater use of Diesel Substitution (LPG or LNG) for heavy haulage resulting in less emissions and better economy, as well as an emphasis on All-Electric vehicles to be used as taxis and public transport in our cities; the newest London taxis are now fully electric and can be recharged in minutes.
Peter believes government can shape uptake of these technologies by wise subsidy investment.
EQUALITY
How can we truly say we live in a society which values equality when women can be paid less than men to do the same work?
As a former-police officer who specialised in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and studied Feminist Theory at the University of Queensland to better understand the causes of this endemic social ill, Peter Pyke sees a link between society’s erroneous perception that women have a lesser status and the disproportionately higher rates of violence against females.
Peter Pyke says there are no second class citizens in Australia and if elected to the Senate he will act to ensure that women and men enjoy true equality with equal pay rates.
EUTHANASIA
Peter Pyke understands the issues involved in the debate about voluntary euthanasia. He supports a person’s right to legally choose to end their life under circumstances where prolonging life is the least humane option available.
As well, he promotes a person’s right to refuse unwanted treatment at the end of a long and productive life.
Peter puts on the record his intention to do all that he can to prevent suicide, particularly amongst our younger citizens.
FAMILY
Peter Pyke supports families – our communities are founded on family life.
Peter is dedicated to assisting families to be functional and independent; and to making homes safe from the influences of alcohol, drugs, abuse and violence.
If elected, Peter would like to see commonsense rules to allow parents to reasonably discipline their children and young people, and return them home if they have strayed. This supports the legitimate function of parents.
FARMING AND FOOD PRODUCTION
Looking forward, Peter Pyke predicts that Australia and South America will lead world exports in agriculture and food production. Already, he is troubled that foreign buyers who have recognised the potentialities are moving to acquire large-scale farming assets on our home soil.
Peter sees agriculture and food production as presenting perhaps the most significant as yet unrealised opportunities ahead of our nation at this time.
SELLING OUR FOOD: NOT THE FARM
A recent ABC Online investigation revealed widespread concerns that Australia needs to do more to secure food supplies as other countries have begun snapping up our agricultural assets.
Peter Pyke agrees with agriculture experts who say the Foreign Investment Review Board is not adequately scrutinising foreign acquisitions of food producing assets.
The sale of agricultural land is exempt under the rules of the FIRB unless the sale exceeds $231 million. Peter says changing this figure will merely encourage subterfuge and other methods must be developed to restrict foreign ownership and he wants to talk to experts to determine what is appropriate.
Peter believes it is far smarter for Australians to sell our food to other countries than to sell off our agricultural assets. Perhaps you agree?
Peter Pyke wants to see the Foreign Investment Review Board able to stringently regulate foreign ownership of farms, food and water assets with a national register of all foreign purchases based on accurate information about companies which reflect their true identities.
A NATIONAL FARMING AND FOOD PLAN
Peter Pyke wants to see Biosecurity, R & D and Water the top issues in a National Farming and Food Plan and would consult widely with stake-holders to ensure Australia’s food security is protected in the future.
Peter says it is long overdue that all areas of food production and horticulture, from the farm to the consumer, start working together in order to maximise farming and food production opportunities, starting with a national vision to put in place the building blocks for sustainability and profitability.
Peter Pyke understands that food and grocery is Australia’s largest manufacturing sector worth more than $100 billion annually in turn-over to the nation and employing 315,000 people across Australia, including more than 150,000 in rural and regional Australia.
Australian farms and their related sectors generate $137 billion-a-year in production – underpinning 12 per cent of GDP – and supporting more than 317,000 direct jobs on Australian farms with an additional 1.6 million jobs elsewhere across the nation. Australian farmers export over 60% of everything they produce.
Peter Pyke says Aussie farmers deserve a visionary and proactive policy environment which helps them produce and get goods to market, and that means funds for agricultural research, balanced water reform, a world-class bio-security regime and efficient road, rail and port networks.
DEDICATED SENIOR TRADE MINISTER
Peter Pyke supports the NFF’s call for a return to a dedicated, stand-alone federal trade minister who has a seat in Cabinet, focussed on creating new trade opportunities.
BIO-SECURITY
Peter thinks Australians know better than to risk the security of our unique isolated biodiversity by the unnecessary and wrong importation of foodstuffs and products which might carry disease.
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will act to halt this stupidity.
PROPERTY RIGHTS
Senate candidate for Queensland Peter Pyke recognises that Australian farmers can be justifiably proud of their sound environmental management. He knows that 94% of farmers practise natural resource management as a matter-of-course, understanding that the preservation of their natural resources is vital for their future livelihoods.
Peter hears farmers who are demanding answers to questions about their property rights. He shares the concern of NFF President David Crombie who recently said: “Amid converging government, environmental and mining encroachment on our ability to farm, farmers feel frustrated and disempowered. Be it federal and state governments conspiring to do farmers out of legitimate land use without proper compensation, miners usurping land and water rights at will or environmentalists telling us what we can and can’t do on our land, Australia’s farmers have had a gut-full.”
Peter Pyke, if elected to the Senate, will act to provide farmers with certainty over future land use and ensure full and adequate compensation where property rights are compulsorily acquired by governments or where farmers are required to undertake management practices above and beyond their normal duty of care.
Peter has a vision for Australia as a world-leader in agriculture and food production so will fight to support farmers and farming communities. At a time when food and fibre production is more important than ever, he says farmers deserve certainty about their future and their rights as landholders. Peter Pyke says it makes sense that the property rights of farmers must be respected in relation to government decisions affecting land and water entitlements to give them the confidence to invest in and run their vital farming businesses.
Peter Pyke says that if he is elected to the Senate, farmers will have a good friend in the Upper House of the Australian parliament and he will back the NFF in putting property rights front-and-centre.
FIRST AUSTRALIANS
Peter Pyke stands in solidarity with Aboriginal people. He says there are no second class citizens in Australia and he wants to see racism eradicated in his lifetime.
Peter condemns the Northern Territory Intervention and shares the concerns of Australia’s Human Rights Commission who are troubled about:
continuation of the compulsory five-year lease arrangements and their exclusion from the protections against discrimination under the RDA;
potential characterisation of some measures as ‘special measures’ under the RDA;
the broad reach of some categories of the new income management measure, particularly where they could result in a disproportionate number of Aboriginal people being unnecessarily income-managed, and
continuation of unnecessary and unreasonable business management areas powers.
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will act to abolish the NT Emergency Response legislation and to restore rights of self determination and control over traditional lands, including remote communities, homelands, and town camps.
The Elders tell Peter the NT Working Futures policy is about closing their homelands and communities. This is damaging and destructive to Aboriginal families, their language, law, culture and everything that is important to them. This is their identity, passed down through generations making them the oldest unique culture in the world.
Income Management, cuts to the Community Development Employment Program (CDEP), the bi-lingual education ban in schools, compulsory five year leases over land and housing – all these measures are taking away control over the lives and communities of First Australians. This is wrong.
Peter Pyke demands that the reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) and state and territory anti-discrimination laws in the Northern Territory and the restoration of full protections for the affected communities be made first order of business for the next Australian parliament.
Peter Pyke wants to see services delivered on the ground in all Indigenous communities, particularly in relation to housing, health and education and he wants proper government engagement with affected communities to ensure that funding is correctly targeted and that services are delivered and developed appropriately.
GAY MARRIAGE
Peter Pyke believes the fundamental issue in gay marriage is that of equality, with a further question about how appropriate is it for the church to intrude into state issues?
Senate candidate Peter Pyke doesn’t believe there are any second-class citizens in Australia, gay or straight. Peter believes all citizens have equal rights, which includes to marriage.
Australia is fundamentally a secular society and Peter says it sets a dangerous standard for any religion to be able to dictate to the state.
Peter Pyke recognises the diversity of relationships Australians engage in and sees no reason to oppose gay marriage.
GUN OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL
Shooting clubs have existed in Australia since the mid-1800s and are mainly concerned with protecting the viability of hunting, collecting and target shooting sports. Australian shooters regard their sport as under permanent threat from increasingly restrictive legislation and argue that they have been made scapegoats by politicians, the media, and anti-gun activists for the acts of criminals who generally use illegal firearms.
Shooting clubs argue that there is little evidence that increasing restrictions have improved public safety, despite what they perceive as the high costs and regulatory barriers imposed on shooters in Australia.
Peter Pyke is a shooter who has enjoyed the sport from the age of 11. He lives in a regional city where unusually high levels of gun-ownership are not reflected in rampant gun crime. If elected to the Senate, Peter will be prepared to look at more reasonable gun ownership laws and licensing costs.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
AGED CARE
Peter can see that our aged-care systems are in need of substantial upgrading if we are to hope to provide all those who require it with proper support, nursing and personal care in residential, home or hospital settings.
Australia needs a transformed aged care system which must be easier for older people to navigate and responsive to different levels of care and funding arrangements. Community care services for people living at home must also be expanded significantly along with increased capital provided for many more high care beds.
Peter Pyke wants to assist older people to remain in their homes and communities for as long as possible aided by aged care and ancillary health professionals. He understands this is what the majority of older people want as well as a key factor in minimising more serious health issues.
What is certain to Peter is that there is much to do, and there is an urgent need for immediate action to ensure a cohesive national approach to address fundamental change in our aged care systems.
COMMUNITY-BASED CARE
Peter Pyke is supportive of community-based health-care which devolves decision-making to local bodies and permits Australians to have access to care in their own homes and communities wherever practicable, whilst promoting efficiencies and minimising waste.
FLUORIDATION
Peter Pyke is against fluoridation of water. In Toowoomba, Peter’s regional council has advised that what they are putting in the water supply is not the sodium fluoride that’s found in toothpaste but rather it is sodium fluorosilicate which is a toxic waste product of the phosphate industry. In terms of toxicity it rates second-highest on the Poisons Schedule and it’s MSDS information warns users to ‘Keep away from food, drink and animal feed’. It is also highly toxic in contact with the skin, so workers who place the chemical into our drinking water are forced to wear full-body protection equipment. The actual product, Peter has been told, comes from the Shanghai Mintchem Development Company in China so quality-control won’t be an issue, will it?
Queenslanders should also be advised that the European Court of Justice recently ruled that fluoridating the public’s water supply is in fact medicating the public without their consent and is therefore illegal. Legally, it’s akin to assault.
Peter Pyke opposes any form of forced or involuntary mass medication and the poisoning of our drinking water by fluoridation or any other means including supposed ‘health benefits’.
If elected to the Senate, Peter will act to stop these illegal practises being used again anywhere in Australia.
INDIGENOUS SERVICES
Senate candidate for Queensland Peter Pyke understands that about 25 per cent of First Australians live in areas classified as remote or very-remote and he wants to see dramatic change and innovation employed to ensure distance ceases to discriminate against the health care needs of Aboriginal people.
Almost a third of the nation’s Aboriginal people live far from urban areas compared with only two per cent of the non-Indigenous population.
Mr Pyke wants to see the widest range of services available to remote communities from GPs, dental, child and mental health, and he wants to ensure that services are provided in culturally-appropriate ways as traditionally men deal with men and women deal with women.
MEDICARE REBATES
The Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (ASO) is calling for a commitment to end Medicare rebate cuts. The ASO says patients and doctors alike are fed up with a Medicare system that is increasingly failing in its job of making essential health care fair and equitable for all Australians.
The ASO says while health care costs are rising rapidly, Medicare rebates for patients are either receiving minimal increases, remaining stagnant, or being cut.
Peter Pyke wants Australia to be a nation that delivers top quality health care to all, not just those with a capacity to pay. Peter makes a commitment that if elected to the Senate he will act to ensure that the Medicare Benefits Schedule will undergo proper review to ensure essential services are accessible and affordable to all.
MENTAL HEALTH
Peter Pyke agrees that the mental health system needs considerable reform and wants change to be based on the formulation of evidence-based and effective strategies to improve the wellbeing of Australians. Too many Australians are not able to access adequate mental health services or rehabilitation places and too many lives are lost or damaged as a consequence. Large injections of funds to this critical area of need must be made, carefully targeted to ensure that the very best outcomes are obtained.
Depression is now at pandemic rates in our communities but huge strides are being made in its treatment with a greater understanding that diet, exercise, sunlight and the company of supportive others can be as effective as anti-depressants.
Peter Pyke is highly sensitive to mental health needs as he has himself survived the black dog of depression and in an earlier career as a police officer had significant exposure to acutely mentally ill Australians and their families.
PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY
In NSW, Victoria and Queensland a shortage of surgeons is critical with just two eye surgeons in Queensland who exclusively treat paediatric cases.
Paediatric ophthalmology consultation rebates must cover the cost of practice overheads and encourage surgeons to service this vital area of medicine, Peter Pyke says. Patients must be provided the proper rebates for these cases to aid our children and our future as a nation.
Peter Pyke wants to see senior consultation positions re-established in each state and territory’s major public hospitals to rebuild paediatric ophthalmology.
PREVENTION
Government funding on prevention programs across Australia is currently just 2.2% of annual health spending. Peter Pyke understands the potential for preventive programs to improve the health and well-being of many Australians and recognises the importance of the federal government committing to a significantly increased focus on all aspects of public health – from research to intervention, including public health training, development and capacity building.
Peter Pyke supports increasing health expenditure via functional taxation to increase prevention spending from 2.2% to 4% to address important health needs such as:
obesity,
alcohol abuse,
tobacco abuse,
drug abuse,
Indigenous health,
mental health, and
oral health.
Peter knows prevention programs will save lives and improve health outcomes for many Australians.
Alcohol: Peter wants to see rigorous legislated controls to protect children and young people from exposure to the advertising and promotion of alcohol.
Overweight and obesity: Peter supports rigorous legislated controls to protect children and young people from exposure to the advertising and promotion of nutritionally undesirable or ‘junk’ foods.
Tobacco: Peter Pyke supports legislation on plain packaging of tobacco products and well-funded public education.
Oral Health: Peter wants to see Commonwealth funding of oral health expanded to a national public oral health program that ensures equitable access to basic oral health services for all Australians.
REGIONAL SERVICES
How country and regional health services can be improved quickly is a question which is a matter of prime importance to many Australians who live outside capital cities, and – to all intents and purposes – in another land.
More doctors and nurses are urgently needed plus access to facilities taken for granted in capital cities.
Peter Pyke doesn’t have all the answers but he pledges that if he is elected he will establish his office in Toowoomba, giving regional Queensland one more Senator outside the SEQ. As well, he promises to set up a mobile office and to spend three months of the year in the regions working with country people to solve problems like the lack of health services in regions.
Peter has a track record of hard work and being accessible and he’s a humble bloke who can relate to Australians at any level.
INTERNET FILTER
Underpinning all initiatives of Peter Pyke in the Senate will be the principle that the protection of children and young people from sexual assault and exploitation is paramount and this principle will be reflected in every legislative and policy initiative he undertakes.
Yet Peter Pyke is like many Australians who understand that an internet filter is an idea which simply won’t work and while many well-intentioned people think the internet filter will protect the Australian public from things like child porn it categorically will not.
Before the ink is dry on the legislation, those who want to will have learned how to bypass the filter with one download.
As well, ISPs say the government’s list of banned sites “[C]overs a tiny proportion of the content that would need to be blocked for it to be effective and has already been shown to contain URLs of legal content that Australians would expect to access.” The internet consists of more than one trillion individual web pages rendering any attempts at blocking all of the targeted sites futile. A team of 100 censors investigating 1000 pages every day each would take over 27,000 years to investigate what is online right now.
Instead of a filter, Peter Pyke supports European best practice, where ISPs themselves have accepted an industry-wide voluntary filtering scheme narrowly focused on child abuse material. This is already happening in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Italy, and Germany.
Peter opposes the proposed internet filter and encourages parents to restrict their children and young people’s access to the wrong sites.
He also opposes what the internet filter really represents which is intrusive government censorship.
INTERNET SNOOPING
Of equal concern to Peter Pyke is the federal government’s plan to snoop on Australians’ web surfing. The Rudd and Gillard governments have been consulting with the internet industry over the proposal, which would require all ISPs to store certain internet activities of all Australians, apparently ‘for law-enforcement agencies to be able to access’.
Industry sources say the controversial regime could go as far as collecting the individual web browsing history of every Australian internet user, although that claim has been denied by a spokesman for Attorney-General Robert McClelland.
The exact details of the web browsing data the government wants ISPs to collect were contained in a document released to the Sydney Morning Herald under FOI but from the heavily-censored document released, it is impossible to know how far the government is planning to take the policy.
Peter Pyke is against all forms of BIG BROTHER AND SISTER and will act to prevent Australia from sleep-walking into an oppressive surveillance society.
NATIONAL BROADBAND NETWORK
As a cabling contractor who works in the IT industry, Peter Pyke has a practical understanding of how achievable and important a national broadband network is for our clever country.
Fibre-optic cabling connecting every possible bank, business, factory, farm, home, hospital, office, school and university in the nation – including those in the regions – is a nation-building idea of the kind we need to transform Australia into a world-leader. Peter Pyke backs the Labor plan.
Initially, we might be talking about speeds of 100 megabits per second over this network but what many people do not understand is that once the cabling is in place (fibre-optic is glass cabling while copper cabling is 100 year old technology) the hardware at either end can be upgraded and speeds of gigabits per second are achievable down the road.
This is another no-brainer. How can our clever country hit top speed without a fibre-optic network?
The cost is high, but it will be a one-off investment on the same scale of innovation as the Snowy Mountains Scheme which needs to be made to ensure that it will reach 93% of Australians not just the profitable areas private companies would want to service. The NBN will future-proof our nation and make us a world-leader.
Peter agrees this vital investment needs to be made now and wants to see ‘fibre-to-the-node’ and for the NBN assets to remain in public ownership.
Tasmania also intends putting the piping for a natural gas reticulation system in the same trenches with the NBN. Now that’s smart!
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: A NATIONAL KNOWLEDGE DATABASE
Peter Pyke wants to maximise opportunities for our clever country by capitalising on the management of Natural Resource Management (NRM) knowledge on a national scale. Peter sees this knowledge as the key component underpinning sustainable systems of land, water and vegetation management right across our nation.
Peter Pyke supports the idea of a new knowledge strategy with a strong national framework not dominated by centralised control but staffed by people who comprehend the big picture as well as the time scale necessary for NRM work and funding.
While there are a plethora of databases across NRM projects too few are truly interlinked and collaboration across groups will be greatly assisted with the operational support a National NRM Database will provide.
POKER MACHINES
Peter Pyke knows gambling causes a lot of harm in our society and he is strongly opposed to poker machines.
Peter questions how any government can support more pokies knowing full well the damage they do to battlers, their families and their communities.
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will join forces with other like-minded members of the federal parliament to act to limit the damage caused by poker machines.
POPULATION POLICY
Australia is a nation founded on immigration. Recent higher levels of immigration have alarmed people and now a backlash threatens.
Peter Pyke urges Australians to ‘hold their nerve’ on population growth. Our country will continue to grow and we can continue to manage growth and make it work for us.
PREFERENCES
Peter Pyke is against shabby backroom preference deals between parties.
Peter believes Australians are smart enough to know how to fill out a ballot paper.
Peter Pyke has not allocated preferences to any party or other candidate.
PUBLIC ASSETS
Senate Candidate for Queensland Peter Pyke sees the provision of some essential services as the proper business of the state.
Peter says Australia must halt the wrong selling off of unique public assets which were properly and responsibly established to provide subsidised essential public services to all. Time and again citizens have seen with despair these formerly public assets become corporate monopolies or duopolies which have no competitors and seem quick to uncaringly rip profits from already financially-burdened citizens.
Peter Pyke says we must stop selling off our essential and monopolistic public assets by any Australian government, at any level.
And Peter has the runs on the board; as a former-Queensland MP, Peter Pyke was banned from Queensland’s parliament house this year for mounting a personal protest at parliament house against the sale of important Queensland public assets including ports, railways and roads.
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke says he can be trusted to act to prevent public assets from being sold off. He says that where a clear case exists that a government has no mandate from the people to sell public assets and attempts to do so against the wishes of the majority, those assets should remain in public ownership.
As a case in point, Peter says in Queensland it is accepted that 85% of the people are against the Bligh ALP government’s intention to sell off important and monopolistic public assets, including Queensland Rail. Let the buyer beware, says Peter Pyke.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Peter Pyke is impatient for our clever country to break out of the constraints imposed by a legacy left by too many short-sighted and blinkered politicians.
Hullo! It’s 2010, and it’s time for Australia to enjoy many of the technologies and advancements other countries have had for decades.
Peter recognises a great need for far better public transport across our vast nation, both in cities and regional areas. In and between cities, moving people is the priority, but in regional areas farmers, miners and businesses are also hampered by an inability to get produce to market and products on shelves.
Many of our cities which seem to be over-crowded because of traffic congestion are simply lacking in effective public transport and other essential infrastructure and services, Peter believes.
Too much planning and service-provision in Australia seems short-sighted, ad hoc and driven only by marginal-electorate politicking by both major parties. This must stop and wise planning and service-provision adopted. That’s where Peter Pyke comes in; if elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will act to see a big-picture, visionary approach to national infrastructure planning to ensure the most efficient provision of public transport for people, freight and services, all across our nation.
There is no need for study and further delay; Fast-Rail between all capital cities and between capital cities and major regional centres is just one aspect of what is required. The Inland Rail project must be funded and other similar visionary ideas considered.
Peter Pyke says: “Let’s get excited about the future of this, our wonderful, clever country!”
A REPUBLIC
Peter Pyke wants our nation to move to an independent republic. A majority of Australians are ready for our nation to become a republic and are hungry to have a frank discussion about all opportunities to improve our systems of constitutional democracy.
Moving to a republic offers the opportunity for a modern new Constitution which values and sets out honourable entitlements for First Australians, enshrines a secular spirit for our clever country, and establishes our shared vision for our future.
RULE OF LAW – UNASSAILABLE HUMAN RIGHTS
Most Australians have heard the phrase ‘rule of law’, but they may not understand what it really means. The rule of law is the most essential element of our democracy.
Peter Pyke and the Republican Democrats have enshrined the importance of the rule of law in a Democratic Platform published on the Party’s website. No other party seems to have ever done this. Check it out at: www.republicandemocrats.org.au
Why is the rule of law so important? At a time when governments of all hues, at all levels, seem intent on stripping away our freedoms and putting in place more and more intrusive surveillance, monitoring and censorship, the rule of law provides a framework for the protection of citizen’s rights which stretches back beyond Magna Carta.
If elected to the Australian Senate, Peter Pyke will be one Senator who understands the rule of law, and will act to ensure that no legislation which violates the rule of law passes through the Senate.
‘ANTI-BIKIE’ LEGISLATION
Peter Pyke agrees with respected jurists who say that ‘Anti-Bikie’ legislation enacted by several states is really anti-group or anti-organisation legislation which can be used against any group or organisation and has been properly panned by senior lawyers who have served on significant anti-crime bodies.
The so-called ‘Anti-Bikie’ legislation violates rule of law principles and is a dangerous step in the direction of a totalitarian society. Even the police did not ask for it and it has been rarely used so why the need?
Peter Pyke says legislation of this type has no place in a free democracy and he mounted a 24 hour vigil at Queensland’s parliament house to try to stop it being enacted in Queensland.
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will act to enshrine Commonwealth law to prevent state and territory parliaments from enacting legislation which is outside the rule of law.
That means the controversial Anti-Bikie legislation would become unlawful and would be repealed.
SENIORS
Peter Pyke believes we have much catching up to do to ensure better outcomes for older Australians. This includes a pension which can maintain living standards above the poverty line for couples and singles.
Peter knows affordable accommodation underpins pension viability and he wants to see more public sector housing made available to older citizens, in both urban and regional areas.
Where seniors are able, Peter wants to see their continued participation in the workforce and he sees the ability for older Australians to reasonably supplement pensions with earnings without penalty as a commonsense step towards easing financial hardship.
STANDING ORDER 50
For those who may not know what Standing Order 50 is, in the Australian Senate it is a requirement that:
The President, on taking the chair each day, shall read the following prayer:
Almighty God, we humbly beseech Thee to vouchsafe Thy special blessing upon this Parliament, and that Thou wouldst be pleased to direct and prosper the work of Thy servants to the advancement of Thy glory, and to the true welfare of the people of Australia.
Our Father, which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Peter Pyke accepts the mystical existence of our Creator without Whom nothing would exist.
He is also motivated by tolerance of belief and supports highly-valued Australian traditions.
Standing Order 50 is both an inoffensive acknowledgement of our Creator and a century-old tradition unlikely to offend any religion. Peter Pyke supports it’s retention on those bases.
STEM CELLS RESEARCH
Peter Pyke reads widely and believes that the controversial practice of harvesting embryonic stem cells from aborted, human embryos may soon be a thing of the past, superseded by the use of adult stem cells which have potent qualities embryonic stem cells don’t have.
Adult stem cells extracted from living, adult humans are now being used to treat everything from heart disease and diabetes, to leukaemia and blindness. Adult stem cells are harvested from adult bone marrow and other tissues and have been successfully injected into the human body to help regrow and repair organs, tissues and skin. These cells can literally turn into bones, blood vessels and tissues that are diseased or damaged, and they seem to adapt to whatever is needed by the body to heal a specific area.
Peter Pyke supports ethical research and medical practice.
WATER
Peter Pyke says he is a tolerant person but he has no tolerance for the lack of vision being manifest by our current crop of political leaders on water and related issues.
DESALINATION
Australia is an island continent surrounded by oceans. Peter Pyke believes desalination can provide us with unlimited water produced by plants powered entirely by gas, solar-thermal or other fully renewable energies.
GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN
Peter Pyke also sees we have a truly remarkable inland water resource which is the Great Artesian Basin which is likely to provide the means of opening up all inland regions to intensive agriculture over time.
That’s if we can protect this water source from harm by pitiably stupid governments and unknowing miners.
UCG versus Water: Peter Pyke states un-categorically that if elected to the Senate, he will act to stop underground coal gasification (UCG) anywhere in Australia. His research has convinced him UCG is an unsafe, unwise, polluting method which must be completely banned. Full stop.
CSG versus Water: Peter also wants to see restrictions placed on coal seam gas extraction (CSG) and any other form of mining in those areas which might threaten the security of the Great Artesian Basin and any other important underground water reservoirs, or which might endanger our precious black-soil farmlands and other fertile areas.
Water security and food production take priority over mining in Peter Pyke’s book.
RAINFALL
Our nation enjoys high rainfall in some parts but not others. Are our scientists and thinkers unlikely to come up with new and exciting ideas to improve rainfall, despite climate change? Peter Pyke has faith in our thinkers and ideas-generators and he issues the challenge.
MURRAY-DARLING BASIN
Peter Pyke agrees with the need for rapid action to protect our stressed river systems and he supports moves to more sustainable agriculture and active ecosystem management.
Peter also agrees with the National Farmers Federation which says that cutting water entitlements in the Murray-Darling Basin will lead to widespread job losses, business closures and social dislocation on a massive scale which will decimate a number of important regional communities.
At least $3 billion dollars have been set aside to buy back water entitlements from irrigators in the Basin which will effectively shut down parts of Australia’s largest and most productive food bowl. To return to environmentally-sustainable flows and healthy rivers systems is the target, but are the suggested significant cuts to water availability for irrigation in the Murray-Darling Basin the only response our governments can come up with?
Peter Pyke is a Queenslander who understands that maintaining irrigation volumes from the Murray-Darling systems is crucial for regional jobs, families, businesses and entire communities but Pyke says how the Murray-Darling Basin issue is handled will affect all Australians, not just farmers and people deriving a living from agriculture in the Basin.
In a region which produces 40% of all food in this country the flow-on effects for food scarcity and higher prices at the checkout are clear for all Australians.
Peter says the Murray-Darling Basin problem may be an indicator of what might lie ahead if the Greens gain the balance of power in the Senate.
In trying to fix what greenies see only as an environmental problem another problem which is an economic and social disaster is in danger of being caused.
The alternative is water policy and infrastructure which guarantees a continuing vibrant and sustainable irrigation sector and thriving communities in the Murray-Darling Basin. How can that be achieved?
DROUGHT-PROOFING OUR NATION
Peter Pyke says Australians have a proud record of lateral-thinking and vision; too bad it’s not shared with our current crop of politicians and bureaucrats.
Queensland already has one desalination plant built at Tugun on the Gold Coast (at a cost of $1 billion) currently operating at just one-third of its potential 167 megalitres-per-day capacity, part of a water grid which now pumps to the Cressbrook Dam just north of Toowoomba.
The Cressbrook Dam is 20 kilometres – a mere spit away – from the upper reaches of the Condamine River, which drains into the Darling, which diagonally crosses New South Wales before merging with the Murray in the South-East of NSW.
At a pinch from the bagful of money set aside to buy back water rights in the Murray-Barling Basin (some of it phantom water), within 12 months 128 megalitres-per-day of additional water could be flowing on its way from the Queensland coast to the Darling and Murray systems. That’s an extra 46 gigalitres a year into the Condamine-Darling-Murray system from just this one source.
Peter Pyke says this is another no-brainer. Australia will gain hugely from more sustainable river systems and increased farming production.
Queensland will gain a return on its plant and generate income from water which will be sold to irrigators.
MURRAY-DARLING HEADWATERS SCHEME
Peter Pyke says he wants to see at least eight high-volume desalination plants constructed on the East Coast to put as much 1,000 gigalitres of desalinated water into the headwaters of existing river systems in both Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, all of which flow into the Darling or Murray or systems.
Instead of squandering billions to run down agriculture and harm vital regional farming communities in Australia’s agricultural heartland, Senate candidate Peter Pyke wants to see those same billions establish the necessary water infrastructure to drought-proof our nation, once and for all.
Sure, he says this will mean ignoring the greenies and building water infrastructure on a grand scale but we’ve done that before with the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
And the money to kick-start the Scheme, it seems, is already in the budget. Peter Pyke says: “Let’s do it!”
If elected to the Senate, Peter Pyke will work with governments and business to put in place what he has named the Murray-Darling Headwaters Scheme to construct and connect eight East Coast desalination plants to the headwaters of the Bogan, Condamine, Lachlan, Macquarie, Murrumbidgee, Namoi and Warrego Rivers.
This exciting truly nation-building project would cost about $50 billion and return many hundreds if not thousand of billions to our nation over the 25-year predicted life of the plants.
Senate candidate Peter Pyke says we can choose to go backwards in the green car or we can cruise the super highway in his high-tech limmo.
VIDEO GAMES R18+ RATING CLASSIFICATION
Peter Pyke recognises the need for children and young people to be protected from exposure to violent and sexualised video games.
This is another no-brainer. Peter Pyke supports an R18+ rating classification for video games.
Authorised by Peter Pyke, 135 Russell Street, Toowoomba, 4350.
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