As seen by the example of Rob Oakeshott, the core responsibility of a Member of Parliament is to represent the needs of the electorate over the partisan interests of party politics.

While I was a Councillor, I was responsible for overhauling Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s Community Consultation Policy to bring it in line with the International Association of Public Participation standards.

As a result of the review I initiated, Council’s consultation process is now in line with World’s best practice. Unfortunately, this did not occur in time for the consultation phase of the Glasshouse project.

The dismissal was the end result of Council not taking the community with it. There is a massive lesson from that part of Port Macquarie’s history that I will be taking with me into Parliament.

Other issues I will campaign on in Parliament are climate change, education, health funding and housing affordability.

Think of it as heat, head, health and hearth.