The Liberal Party has announced their candidate for the coming 2019 state election.
School teacher Owen Laffin of Springwood was formally and unanimously preselected as the Liberal candidate for the Blue Mountains for the 2019 NSW Election over the weekend.
There were no other candidates.
“The pre-selection was uncontested and I have [former MP] Roza’s [Sage’s] full support,” he told the Gazette.
Mr Laffin is head of secondary years at Norwest Christian College in Riverstone. He has taught history, geography, English and philosophy in schools across western Sydney. He has a Masters of Education from Macquarie University, has tutored in the Master of Teaching program at Western Sydney University and served on the board of directors of the NSW History Teachers Association for several years.
“My family first settled in the Blue Mountains in the 1930s, and Springwood has been my home since 2011. This is a beautiful region and we must fight to protect its heritage, while working together to ensure a brighter future for all those who call Blue Mountains their home.”
Mr Laffin said his priorities included “making sure that towns and villages across Blue Mountains get the services and infrastructure that we need”.
He said the area has a “sizable ageing population and a lot of vulnerable people that we have a duty to care for”.
“There is a lot of work to be done for the local community, which can only be achieved by a Liberal member. As a teacher, I know what a difference a well-resourced school can make in the life of a child, and only the Liberals can deliver a government that will ensure that our kids’ schools get the funding they need.”
He also said he wanted to make sure the Mountains benefited “from better health care with a new Blue Mountains Hospital, as well as improvements to the aged care, education, road and rail services”.
The next NSW state election is scheduled to be held on Saturday March 23, 2019.
