With the NSW State Election on Saturday 25 March, Peninsula Living spoke with the local candidates for Pittwater about why they hope to enter the hallowed halls of parliament.
PITTWATER
Pittwater is home to Sydney’s most northern beaches before the Central Coast. Multimillion-dollar coastal homes at Palm Beach contrast with rural inland suburbs like Ingleside. Retiring Liberal MP Rob Stokes has held the seat for 15 years.
RORY AMON | Liberal Party
Rory is a Northern Beaches councillor who is passionate about the local community and way of life.
“I believe in giving back to our area and spending my time improving our local way of life,” he says.
Rory is a family lawyer who has been a volunteer firefighter for more than 10 years.
He says one of his proudest achievements in five years at Northern Beaches Council was securing $2.5 million to fast-track the re-build of Mona Vale Surf Club. He states he has also fought strongly to protect the environment and the local way of life by advocating for and securing Council’s net zero emissions target.
Rory has also opposed the ‘inappropriate’ development of 130 apartments in Warriewood, thousands of dwellings in fire prone land at Ingleside, and higher density in Newport and beyond.
Rory says only the Liberals will deliver the Beaches Link project.
“We need to be smart in the way that we approach (the tunnel) and ensure that the tax-payer funds for the Beaches Link are used sensibly, rather than having to pay two, three or four times over.”
HILARY GREEN | The Greens
Hilary is a former teacher who has worked in high schools and universities.
A long-time activist, she is most passionate about saving the environment.
“We need to conserve the beautiful natural environment that remains in our area,” she says.
“(We also need to) stop the endless overdevelopment that the State Government has encouraged for too long.”
Hilary believes Wakehurst Parkway can be upgraded without clearing huge tracts of endangered bush and dredging hundreds of litres of aquatic habitat.
“At a state level, we must decarbonise and expand public transport, stop native forest logging, end the corrupt biodiversity offsets scheme and ban all new coal and gas developments -including off (of) our coast.”
Hilary believes emergency and other acute services should be restored to Mona Vale Hospital.
Traffic issues should not be resolved by more toll roads like the proposed Beaches Link, she argues.
“The solution to our traffic issues is a massive reduction in demand, facilitated by high quality public transport, not small increases in supply.”
JEFFREY QUINN | Australian Labor Party
Jeffrey is a teacher who has run his own tutoring business on the Northern Beaches for 26 years.
He believes public health is a priority for Pittwater, with rebuilding emergency, mental health services and clinical facilities in Mona Vale imperative.
“I’m not a career politician. I just want to protect this beautiful place and get the best solutions for the people and the environment,” he says.
It is important that the people of Pittwater are listened to, Jeffrey says.
“Their wishes for the district (need to be) recognised and supported by the State Government, rather than run over by it – as happened with the demolition of the public hospital and the forced amalgamation of Pittwater Council.”
If elected, Jeffrey will protect Pittwater from ‘ruthless’ overdevelopment, so its uniqueness is maintained.
The shortage of teachers on the Northern Beaches also needs to be addressed, Jeffrey says.
“We need to keep teachers in the profession by reducing their administrative workload, giving them a pay rise and providing more support to new teachers through school-based clinical supportive supervision systems.”
JACQUI SCRUBY | Independent
Backed by Climate 200, Jacqui is a community ‘teal’ Independent who is running to ‘protect beautiful Pittwater’.
“Our way of life has been put at risk by environmental recklessness and inappropriate development,” she says.
Formerly an advisor for Mackellar MP Sophie Scamps, Jacqui says one of the issues she feels strongly about is ensuring there is no oil and gas drilling off the Northern Beaches coastline.
Jacqui has already drafted a bill with five other NSW Independents to stop any such drilling.
Other priorities she will pursue include cutting red tape for small business, doubling the number of skilled migrants in NSW to assist the worker shortage, and greater funding for mental health services.
The former environmental lawyer wants stronger reforms for poker machines, as they bring ‘huge problems of crime and gambling harm’. She says that if she ends up holding the balance of power in a minority government, she would make stronger poker machine reform a condition for her support.
Fighting overdevelopment, retaining conservation zones, and ending native forest logging are other areas Jacqui wants to address.