10 August 2020

Liberals announce replacement Kurrajong candidate

| Ian Bushnell
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Peter McKay

Liberal Peter McKay says it’s time for a change. Photo: Supplied.

The Canberra Liberals have endorsed former army officer and public servant Peter McKay as a Liberal candidate for Kurrajong, replacing Vijay Dubey, who resigned last month after falling out with the party.

Mr McKay will line up for another tilt at Kurrajong in the October Legislative Assembly elections after running unsuccessfully in 2016.

A party statement said Mr McKay had lived in Kurrajong, with his wife Trish, for the last 33 years.

”He has been an army parachutist, career army officer including commanding a tri-service overseas contingent, an executive-level public servant, a union delegate, an army reservist, a commercial property owner, and secretary to a unit body corporate that successfully prosecuted a builder for building defects. He and wife Trish have three married daughters,” campaign director Josh Manuatu said.

Canberra Liberals leader Alistair Coe said he was pleased to have such a passionate advocate on the Kurrajong Liberal team.

“As Peter and his wife Trish prepare to downsize, they bring a real-life understanding of so many long-term Canberrans who want to make sure that Canberra can be the best place to retire,” he said.

READ ALSO Liberals dump Kurrajong candidate

Mr McKay said it was time for a change of government.

“As a Canberran by choice who has lived, worked and raised a family in Canberra, I want to make sure that Canberra is the best place for my kids and grandchildren to raise their own families,” Mr McKay said.

“Old governments get cosy and stale. It’s time for a change so that we can improve the deteriorating response times in our health system.

“I’m looking forward to working with Elizabeth Lee, Candice Burch, Robert Johnson and Patrick Pentony to make the case for the Liberals’ positive plan for Kurrajong.”

Mr Dubey quit as a candidate last month after differences emerged between him and the Liberal campaign.

It is believed he had gone off message during campaigning and was issued with an ultimatum he resign or be disendorsed.

Canberra goes to the polls on 17 October.

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Yes Sol, an insight into what we will get with a Canberra Conservative Liberal government if they are elected. I notice Mark Parton down on Lonsdale Street and on his Facebook page doing another stunt ridiculing the awarding of the international roundabout prize to Canberra for its Braddon roundabout for its uniqueness and rainbow colours. As we know, the roundabout celebrates Canberra’s diversity and overwhelming support in the marriage equality ballot. Mr Parton has taken offence at this award and is trying to link its awarding to the ACT govt and the delays in elective surgery. One respondent to Mr Parton’s video stated the bleeding obvious, the roundabout is just a bit of paint on a roundabout while another respondent accused him of being homophobic by conflating two separate issues and dog whistling.

Capital Retro7:38 pm 10 Aug 20

Well, don’t vote for him.

Nice pile of hatred all wrapped up in that little submission…

Mike of Canberra10:47 am 11 Aug 20

So Kim, you praise the rainbow roundabout as being about celebrating Canberra’s diversity and support for gay rights including marriage equality. At the same time, you dismiss the Canberra Libs as being “churchey” and “hard right” because their policy positions are moderately to the right of the hard left Barr Government. If you want to embrace diversity, embrace it. If in so doing you then dismiss elements of that same diversity, at the very least you’re being inconsistent and, more likely, are showing intolerance towards elements of what is a broad community.

Mike of Canberra10:54 am 11 Aug 20

Hatred? Really? A lot of pretty conservative positions but at no point do I see this individual wishing harm on anyone. If you wish to further your own agenda, you need to kill of some of the hyperbole.

Wow Mike, I don’t see those words at all in Kim’s comment! You may call the Lib’s policy positions moderately to the right of the hard left Barr Government. I think there’s a lot of people who would call them completely out of touch with what a modern, accepting and intelligent society believes in.

Oh do I really have to reply to this rot. No Mike of Canberra, the Canberra Liberals are not moderately to the right, they are far right. Discrimination directed at minority groups does not equate to tolerance. The responses generated on Mark Parton’s Facebook page to his little stunt ridiculing the rainbow roundabout shows that there may not be as much tolerance to minority groups in the ACT as people would expect

No longer an option 🙁

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