Dr Craig Buchanan JP
Councillor, City of Rockingham
Policy Positions
My reason for nominating was to allow local policy issues to come to the fore. Over the coming weeks and months, I will post detailed policy statements here on this website. Please re-visit regularly, or email us to receive updates as and when new content is available. Meantime, if there is an issue you would like to raise, whether it's something you want to know my opinion on, or something you think I should be more aware of, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Point Peron / Mangles Bay Marina
I am strongly opposed to the Mangles Bay Marina proposal which would see Landgate join forces with property developers Ceder Woods to carve canals out of what should be a Grade A Reserve right on our doorstep.
That being said, I recognise that we need new and improved boating facilities - I fully support the Port Rockingham proposal which would see a 500 berth marina built adjacent to Wanliss Street - and I acknowledge that areas of Point Peron would benefit enormously from attention and care. That is why I fully support the establishment of a Cape Peron Coastal Park, complete with a visitor centre / museum, maintained walkways, and facilities which would encourage ecotourism, grow local jobs, and maintain this unique coastal landscape for generations to come. Read more here.
Jobs
The two major parties will agree on this, if on nothing else: the 2017 State Election is going to be about jobs. I'm not here to tell you they're wrong, but I will tell you that their focus is too broad. While Colin Barnett tells you that only the tried and tested economic policies of the Liberals will secure enough investment to keep the job market healthy, and Mark McGowan tells you that his administration will create 50,000 jobs, I ask a simple question: how many of those jobs will be here in the southern corridor, easily accessible to workers in Rockingham?
My focus is on practical projects that will bring real jobs into our local community. We have already touched on the creation of tourism jobs at the new Coastal Park that I want to see established at Cape Peron, but there are other practical proposals on the table as well. I am actively lobbying to see a Defence Hub established adjacent to Murdoch University's Rockingham campus, where it would have natural ties to local secondary and tertiary educators, as well as easy access to Fleet Base West and our shipbuilders in Henderson. I am on record as supporting the expansion of the floating dock at Henderson, which has the potential to create hundreds of local jobs, and to further deepen our commitment and expertise in both heavy industry and defence maintenance. And I have a deep seated commitment to the abolition of pointless red tape which makes the life of small businesses to complex and expensive. Money saved by small business through the abolition of bureaucracy means more cash to spend on local employment opportunities. While Colin and Mark argue about figures they've plucked from thin air, I want to focus on practical local plans which will make a real difference to employment in Rockingham and surrounding suburbs. Read more here.
Privatisation of Western Power
If re-elected, the Barnett Government is proposing to privatise certain aspects of Western Power, particularly the poles and wires, which currently cost tax payers hundreds of millions of dollars to maintain and replace each year. It has been suggested that this sale could net the state's coffers as much as $16 billion. Mark McGowan, backed by the Unions, has vowed to oppose the sale, and has said that it won't go ahead under a Labor administration.
I am trying to keep an open mind on this matter, and have sought briefings from both the state government and the unions to better understand where the proponents of each side of the argument stand. What I will say ahead of those meetings
meetings is this - for me to be convinced to back any sale, there would need to be a solid case made for local benefits. If, as some senior Liberal figures have suggested, we could be looking at not only a down payment of debt, but also at four or five major infrastructure projects which would secure countless jobs over the coming decade, and if at least one of those projects was proposed in close proximity to Rockingham, then I would have to balance that against a potential weakening of job security within the electricity supply industry, and the loss of a sizeable public asset to the private sector. The case would have to be both immediate and compelling, however, and until such a case is made I would oppose any sale. Read more here.
Building an Outer Harbour
There is no doubt that we will need an outer harbour in the near future, and that the construction of that facility, not to mention its staffing and day-to-day maintenance once complete has the potential to create tens of thousands of local jobs. It is not a magic pill though, and its effects will not be felt overnight, and any local politician who tries to sell it to you as either is guilty of serious misrepresentation. Best estimates suggest that even if work began today, the outer harbour would take close to 10 years to obtain approvals, dredge, build, and establish, and would cost somewhere in the region of $5 billion dollars. When seen in that light, Mark McGowan's commitment of $20 million to the planning phase is a literal drop in the ocean, and a tacit admission that this is a task that will take years to complete. I support it wholeheartedly, and commit myself to do everything within my power to bring its start date forward, but I won't fall into Mr McGowan's trap of selling it as a quick fix and a cure-all.
24/7 Policing for Rockingham
There is no doubt that we will need an outer harbour in the near future, and that the construction of that facility, not to mention its staffing and day-to-day maintenance once complete has the potential to create tens of thousands of local jobs. It is not a magic pill though, and its effects will not be felt overnight, and any local politician who tries to sell it to you as either is guilty of serious misrepresentation. Best estimates suggest that even if work began today, the outer harbour would take close to 10 years to obtain approvals, dredge, build, and establish, and would cost somewhere in the region of $5 billion dollars. When seen in that light, Mark McGowan's commitment of $20 million to the planning phase is a literal drop in the ocean, and a tacit admission that this is a task that will take years to complete. I support it wholeheartedly, and commit myself to do everything within my power to bring its start date forward, but I won't fall into Mr McGowan's trap of selling it as a quick fix and a cure-all.
24/7 Policing for Rockingham
It beggars belief that our sitting MLA will advocate for 24/7 policing in Armadale, Cockburn and Ellenbrook, but not in his own electorate of Rockingham. We have the fastest growing suburb in Australia (not just in WA, but in AUSTRALIA) as a neighbour, and they don't even have a police station of their own. Instead, they have to use ours, which, as locals know all too well, closes at 4pm on weekdays, and doesn't open at all at the weekends. I find that unacceptable, just as I find Labor's attempts to pork barrel by promising extended police station hours in seats they hope to win from current Liberal members unacceptable. The people of Rockingham deserve better!
I am committed to ensuring that our police station is open longer, and ideally to making it a 24/7 hub for ours and neighbouring communities. That may have to happen by increments, but it will happen if you elect me as your independent MLA this March.
Federal Issues
It beggars belief that our sitting MLA will advocate for 24/7 policing in Armadale, Cockburn and Ellenbrook, but not in his own electorate of Rockingham. We have the fastest growing suburb in Australia (not just in WA, but in AUSTRALIA) as a neighbour, and they don't even have a police station of their own. Instead, they have to use ours, which, as locals know all too well, closes at 4pm on weekdays, and doesn't open at all at the weekends. I find that unacceptable, just as I find Labor's attempts to pork barrel by promising extended police station hours in seats they hope to win from current Liberal members unacceptable. The people of Rockingham deserve better!
I am committed to ensuring that our police station is open longer, and ideally to making it a 24/7 hub for ours and neighbouring communities. That may have to happen by increments, but it will happen if you elect me as your independent MLA this March.
I'm standing on a State agenda, to make sure we have top notch representation in Perth. That being said, I am regularly asked my position on a number of federal issues. You have a right as voters to know where I stand, so without allowing Canberra and its disfunction to distract us too greatly, here are some answers in a nutshell:
Gay Marriage - I believe the Federal Parliament should hold a free vote on enabling legislation as soon as is practical. I'm personally in favour.
MPs Expenses - David Feeney, Bronwyn Bishop, Tony Burke, Sussan Ley - there are examples from all the major parties, and no one group has a better track record than any other. I'm a great believer in what is popularly referred to as the "pub test" - what would the average bloke in the pub think? I can tell you what he'd think of three ministers presuming it was ok to bill the tax payer for a New Year's Eve bash at Malcolm's house - he'd call it bloody outrageous, and he's be right! The Federal Parliament needs to do away with "guidelines", introduce some enforceable regulations, and send those who transgress straight to the back benches to mull over their failings.
