Please take a moment to introduce yourself.
Russell McVey 60, Married with 5 children from 29 years to 7 months. I started work in a bank at 16 and was employed in jobs for about 5 years in public relations and did a stint of Military service and have been in my own businesses from around 25. Live Theatre, Discos, Fitness Centers, Motels, Motivation and Training, home renovations, Retail Management, Wholesaling, Communications, Marketing, and Advertising, In community service I was on the board of Tourism and conference bureaus, Festivals, Commonwealth Games and worked at Expo 88 . I have been a Business Broker for 10 years and recently a Business Valuer. I am in excellent health.
What are your thoughts on coal seam gas?
It is a new area of energy for the world. There are vast reserves on many continents. There should be solid safeguards in it’s development. I would prefer to see the concerns and safety of the development in other countries before we blindly rush into it here. The prime concerns are for the safety of the underground water supplies, food production and the safe guard of landowners livelihoods.
What are your thoughts on the dredging of the great barrier reef?
The dredging can cause short term problems, but I am not sure it’s the dredging that will cause the long term effects. It may be the change in the coastal ocean currents, the massive ship traffic, the dropping of bilge water and the ever present danger of pollution and catastrophic accidents along our coastal waters.
What are your thoughts on water?
Without we are doomed. The safeguard of our waterways, our aquifers, our storage solutions, all require long term plans. It is the people of the land that know our water system best, not the commercial farm managers or investors or politicians. Roof top harvesting and the better use of our tank water, town planning should have water harvesting included not just the quick removal of all water into drains and out to sea. Better education on the use of water and awareness of it as a natural resource.
What are your thoughts on climate change?
Earth is always changing so is the climate. The massive footprint of humans is changing the earths normal climate patterns. Mother earth still can show that she can overpower anything we have built on earth. Humans have been populating earth for a second in the overall eons of time. There have been bigger changes more catastrophic than we humans have caused. We have to reduce our pollution of earth, what are you going or willing to do.
What are your thoughts on renewable energy?
This should be an area that governments and countries should be spending money on developing. We are massive wasters of energy. There is so much more in energy sources that we could be utilizing. Unfortunately it has been left to commercial initiative for so long that they have gone down the path of greatest profit from the easiest energy source. It now has to change.
What are your thoughts on nuclear energy?
The last, absolute last choice for any country on earth.
What are your thoughts on public transport?
People will use public transport if is clean, regular, frequent, safe, economical and gets then to where they want to go in a reasonable amount of time. Successive governments have not planned or designed public transport into the future. In Queensland we are always on catch up. Corridors for light rail, bus, light car and improved taxi services by the inclusion of special home to work taxi licenses for private individuals, have never been given and consideration. There needs to be corridors planned and built, this now will require resumptions, and we all hate that.
What are your thoughts on public education?
We have spent millions of dollars on buildings, facilities, computers, but little on real learning and out education is slipping by world standards.. School discipline has given way to students rights, student rights have overtaken teacher rights. Teachers authority has been reduced to whatever a teacher can get away with. Ultimate authority in schools has been divided into so many areas that students understand that ultimately they are not responsible to anyone. The ultimate punishment is to ban the student from school, which is exactly what those that misbehave want, it has become a status symbol. I may be generalizing a little, but if you are serious about education you should always go back to the basics.
What are your thoughts on the National Broadband Network?
Costly it will become outdated technology, even today the X and Y generation use radio networks, fiber optic to the home will date. Businesses that want high speed internet can pay and get it now. The NBN will be controlled by one operator, one operator government owned allows for filtering, eavesdropping, control and censorship. The NBN has already shown it is more expensive than current commercial operators and if you want speed, you have to pay for it.
What are your thoughts on High-Speed Rail?
Is a great alternative to flying, it is comfortable, fast and runs on time. Once again it should have been in the planning stage twenty years ago. We are running trains on 19th century designed tracks. Done well it should be an infrastructure project built by the commonwealth for the Australians and paid off over the life of the service, not privatized. High speed rail is like public transport, it has to have a good timetable, priced well and be reliable.
What are your thoughts on abortion?
There are always extenuating circumstances, if we accept that every child has a right to life, there are also times when other circumstances need to be weighed into the situation. I do not believe that this can be legislated; it has to be between the mother and her doctor. With proper guidance a mother I would hope will make the decision to give life.
Do you support or oppose gay marriage?
I believe that marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman. Then I have a gay daughter, I want her to be happy with any person she chooses.
Do you support or oppose the legalisation of voluntary euthanasia?
There are so many doctor assisted deaths, the real questions is when one has full mental alertness and is sound in mind but the body is not or what ever the reason should someone be able to die peacefully at a time of his / her choosing. In my time there have been so many unexplained head on vehicle crashes and deaths on straight roads, I wonder how many of these crashes have been the choosing of the occupant. If someone has reached the end of his/her life on earth and chooses to move on can we really stop it?
Do you support or oppose the legalisation of marijuana?
I do not support the legalization of marijuana, or any other drug and I would prefer to see many other outlets for other legal drugs decreased as well
What are your thoughts on campaign finance disclosure?
All campaign funds should be disclosed above $1,000. I think it would be preferable to also watch where the incumbent government spends funds and what institutions or companies benefits during the term of government and compare that to campaign finance. Perhaps all political parties should be limited to how much they are allowed to spend on campaigns.
Do you support or oppose the reading of prayers to start each Parliamentary day, and why?
Parliament has a long tradition; it is based on a Christian Westminster system. The formal start to the sessions is a reminder to all of the importance of their positions and that they are just playing their role within the system and focuses their attention to the tasks that they should be performing for their constituents.
On your particular electoral ticket, where are your preferences going, and why?
The Middle Australian Party is about bringing direct democracy to Australia. Direct democracy empowers Australians to make decisions and direct their representative how to vote in Parliament. Middle Australian Party believes that each citizen will make the right decision for them selves.
Are there any local issues you are trying to highlight with your campaign?
The understanding of direct democracy where Australians can own their governments, not the political parties
The plight of small business which is the power house behind the Australian Community
To understand that in todays world, a job is only one way of earning an income, there are other options to create income
Governments waste hundreds of millions of dollars annually because they are spending to make themselves seen to be doing something,
Long term planning can have short term benefits
A rethink of public and personal transport to cut millions of wasted miles
Get back to basics in education, discipline in schools
Local
Promote an image change for the Lytton electorate
Create a larger and productive use of our many parks
Attract low rise high density accommodation to assist in the revitalilsation of our business centers
Create light vehicle traffic areas around the Electorate
Create annual events that attract visitors to the area
Promote a paint your façade activity in our business centers
Improve signage to points of interest
Clean up and improve landscaping along the foreshore
Promote our industrial areas and show our proximity to the Port of Brisbane
What do you think about the media’s coverage of the election so far?
Quite frankly I am sick and tired of the Presidential style feeding frenzy, with the media demanding new announcements on a daily basis, the media are running our campaigns and promoting the quick grabs, demanding immediate responses, taking items out of context, political parties coming up with meaningless slogans, politicians promising things they have no control over, just to grab a bigger headline and the never ending shot of politician interviews with the jostle to get as many nodding heads from the party in the background. It has nothing to do with informing the public it is more to getting that news grab that will attract viewers or sell papers. No wonder most Australians are just not interested in politics, the stupidity has dumbed us down to the point we don’t care anymore.
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