I have lived most of my life in the northwest of Sydney and have resided in the Hawkesbury area for the past 10 years. As a child I lived at Northmead with my parents and younger brother., I attended Baulkham Hills public and Northmead high school.
When I left school I did an apprenticeship as a diesel mechanic, I attained six trade qualifications at TAFE, also an associated diploma of engineering and worked mainly in the heavy transport industry. From 1995, I was self-employed until retirement
In 1981-91, I worked in the NSW public service and spoke out against waste, mismanagement and corruption.
I joined One Nation in the late 1990s. One Nation gives the voters a real choice
The biggest issues I consider facing the Blue Mountains/Hawkesbury area ahead of the federal election are:
What we are facing below are situations that are no accident or act of nature. It is the result of government not doing its job of looking after the Australian people's best interest. I am sick of all the postulating crying over spilt milk and claims of bolting horses or call it what you may.
They say it is a disaster. NO! It is not a disaster - it's crisis management, incompetence and failure to act. Cyclone Tracy and the Newcastle earthquake were disasters.
A lifetime of flooding in the Hawkesbury area and bushfires in the Blue Mountains, I believe, are the results of deliberate negligence, which demonstrates the incompetence by governments on a massive scale.
Flooding:
The deliberate act of allowing dams to completely fill in wet weather conditions as is consistently the case, is absolutely irresponsible and only demonstrates government's ultimate desire to justify the extending the Warragamba wall, which will introduce even greater problems and dangers to the whole of the Sydney basin.
The government and the operators of all dams feeding into the Hawkesbury need to be held accountable and charged should anyone die because of their negligence. The failure of governments to do their jobs can no longer tolerated
There needs to be a push for retarding dams on the Gross and Colo River and or damming. We need to revisit the construction of a new larger dam downstream of Warragamba. All dams on the whole Nepean system should be used for flood mitigation.
Serious consideration needs be given to sending surplus water to the west of the Blue Mountains into storage and/or channelling further west.
A massive increase in additional water storage capacity of water for Sydney needs to commence immediately.
Bushfires:
The neglect of maintaining a safe and natural system of the bush by governments can no longer be tolerated. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has failed miserably to take care of these areas on our behalf and should not be allowed to carry on without intervention.
We need controlled hazard reduction at least every 10 years excluding adverse weather conditions i.e. long-term drought, as per Aboriginal cool burn recommendations. All fire trails and access to be maintained and the RFS be allowed and given the authority to intervene over the NPWS for access and trial maintenance and routine hazard reduction and have seniority over the NPWS in the event of fire.
The use of the Australian Air Force for aerial water bombing of fires in conjunction with the RFS needs to be implemented. The Australian Defence Force needs to be on tap to protect life and property in these situations.
Over-development and population:
The overdevelopment and the loss of prime agricultural real estate in the Hawkesbury is idiotic. The need for local food production is paramount not just for the Macquarie district, also Sydney.
Population growth has caused the cost of real estate for home and business to have an enormous impact on the standard and cost of living, more than any other factor.
