28 September 2012

Watt’s the answer

28 September 2012 | Advertising Feature

My name is Matt Watts and I am a Liberal Candidate for Ginninderra in the October 20 Assembly election.

Regular readers would know me as the first candidate to donate Lego and participate in the RiotACT’s Candidate Lego Challenge (link). You may also have seen me at a shopping centre or at your front door, spreading the word that I’d be an effective local MLA.

I asked the RiotACT team to leave the comments functionality switched on so that we can have an open dialogue. The RiotACT team advised me that they’ll have to moderate anything that’s off-topic, yet I’m happy to answer general questions about my beliefs, background, policies, etc.

If you want the official Canberra Liberals policies, head here. Now – about me:

I was born in Sydney. My mum’s a teacher and my dad was trained as an electrical engineer, starting his career at the Sydney County Council before a couple of moves to now work for Boral. One grandfather was a plumber, and the other grandfather was a manager at Sunbeam back when they made quality products in Australia. I mention this background to enforce that, whilst I am an established public servant, and proud of the service I have performed for the community through my work, I wasn’t spawned within the APS bio-dome.
I joined the Department of Immigration as an APS 1 in 1999, straight after completing my HSC, with a view to supporting my studies via the APS. I commenced a Bachelor of Arts at Sydney Uni in 2000, with which I was mightily unimpressed (and it me, probably), so I soon got over that distraction and stayed with Immigration. I moved to Canberra in 2003.

I was involved in Immigration’s response to the Palmer and Comrie reports and, with my interest in administrative matters piqued, I resumed study and obtained my Master’s in Public Policy (specialising in social policy) from the ANU.

Work has taken me on deployments to remote areas; most recently I spent six months as a director on Christmas Island. I haven’t travelled much, but I enjoy experiencing new environments. My first overseas trip took me to Canberra’s Friendship City, Dili, and I was amazed at certain correlations between our two cities!

I am a Hash House Harrier, both locally and whenever I travel. It keeps me relatively fit and I’ve met people of really diverse backgrounds. I also enjoy reading widely including history, magazines on current affairs and comics, supporting live local music, whisky tasting, walking (which is handy because I’ve never had a driver’s license), reading and TV shows like Doctor Who.

At various levels over the years I’ve been a member of the Belconnen Community Council, the Australian Privacy Foundation, Neighbourhood Watch, the Australian Institute of Administrative Law, the Institute of Public Administration Australia, ACT Light Rail, Music ACT, Friends of the (Australian War) Memorial and Electronic Frontiers Australia. I was even involved in the CPSU at one stage. I’m also a Justice of the Peace. Being involved in my community is important to me.

I’ve been a member of the Liberal Party since I was sixteen because I’ve never liked the nanny state. I ran as a candidate for Ginninderra in 2008 and as Senator Humphries’ running mate in 2010 (I am likely to have been a Senator if I didn’t save Gaz from the path of a speeding van as we were crossing Northbourne Ave!).

I am especially interested in improved local service delivery, planning and infrastructure, liquor licensing, higher quality community consultation and strengthening the quality of public administration within the ACT Government, particularly with regards to unintended consequences. For example, the feel-good plastic bag “ban” has led to more non-biodegradable bag use in landfill and increased litter in our streets; government intervention is rarely a panacea. Government should serve the Canberra community more than it tries to socially engineer it.

If you want to meet me in person, I will be at the October Hall Markets in the afternoon, and I am at the Jamison “Trash and Treasure” every Sunday morning until the election.

Over to you…!

[authorised by stephen doyle – liberal party canberra]

Join the conversation

238

All Comments

All Comments
Website Comments
Facebook Comments

LatestOldest

maxblues10:20 pm 31 Oct 12

lostinbias said :

maxblues said :

I think we will even see Woolworths close one of its BWS stores at Dickson after Christmas.

Good. Ever since the Woolies Liquor became BWS it’s like they’ve done away with even the illusion of choice. I just hope that the Dickson Liquor store and the Local Liquor next to O’Neils get a bit of extra sales if this happens…

Good. As Mikey Robins said in his joint venture with Canberra goddess Helen Razer, the book that I have tried to live my life by…’3 Beers and a Chinese Meal’…”Think global, drink local”.
Dickson is indeed a perfect Canberra place to drink an odd number of beers and eat Asian.

lostinbias9:26 pm 31 Oct 12

maxblues said :

I think we will even see Woolworths close one of its BWS stores at Dickson after Christmas.

Good. Ever since the Woolies Liquor became BWS it’s like they’ve done away with even the illusion of choice. I just hope that the Dickson Liquor store and the Local Liquor next to O’Neils get a bit of extra sales if this happens…

maxblues7:36 pm 31 Oct 12

Congratulations to Matt for getting this thread started. Will there be a 250th post party? Maybe Henry will invite us all over to his well-stocked basement. Unfortunately my basement is full of bodies. It’s tough being a serial killer and not being able to afford to recharge my electric car (do you think they will let me take bodies on the Electric Light rail?).
Whilst I’m ‘fessin up, I shall admit that I actually voted for Julia Gillard… but after much self analysis I now place this in the same regret/bad decision basket as when I voted for Mark Latham, seriously.
Anyway, who will get the magic 250th post? Maybe Noel Towell(sounds like a Christmas gift) can make a prediction. Gotta go, a serial killers work is never done.

HenryBG7:33 pm 31 Oct 12

maxblues said :

HenryBeerGuzzler did you miss the point that the breweries have stated that the carbon tax effect will not be applied until NEXT February?

Hang on, the bottlo owners have come back in time from next February when the carbon tax has forced everybody to live in caves and they have closed their bottlos NOW because they can’t afford to pay their electricity bills that they got next february before they came back in time.

Please confirm my understanding of Lalaliberal Land is correct?

HenryBG7:04 pm 31 Oct 12

maxblues said :

HenryBG said :

Gungahlin Al said :

You need to do a search on “carbon tax gold plating” and read up a bit on where the lion’s share of electricity price rises is going, and what electricity wholesalers are doing while they have the cover of the carbon tax to be pegged with the blame by people who know no better. And shockjocks on 2UE who do know better but choose to seldom let facts get in the way of a full-on beat-up. Even Malcolm Turnbull agrees: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/goldplating-lifts-power-prices-turnbull-20120811-2410x.html

Turnbull is living proof you don’t have to be retard to be in the Liberal Party.

So much for the nutters in the Liberal Party and their alarmism:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/cost-of-carbon-tax-less-than-estimated-20121024-285se.html

“THE carbon tax has boosted the cost of living scarcely at all. Despite dire talk of an ”almost unimaginable” increase (Tony Abbott) and $100 for a Sunday roast (Barnaby Joyce) the first official consumer price figures show a far lower impact than predicted by the Treasury.
Last July, Treasury said the tax would push up the consumer price index 0.70 percentage points, adding $9.90 per week to average household costs. In return, households were given compensation averaging $10.10 per week.
But 0.70 percentage points looks like being an overestimate. Inflation figures for the September quarter – the one that encompasses almost all of the electricity and gas price rises – show them adding 0.44 points to the CPI. It’s a big figure, but not that much bigger than the usual September quarter slug.
Melbourne households have endured a 13.6 per cent increase in electricity prices – unwelcome but well short of previous September quarter jumps of 19 per cent and 21 per cent.
Advertisement
Nationwide, electricity and gas price rises have added 0.25 and 0.33 points to the consumer price index in the past two September quarters. Treasury expected the gas and electricity price hikes to account for only half of the 0.70 boost, the rest being accounted for by businesses that passed them on.
But Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Blythe makes the point that if the electricity and gas impact is about half what was expected, it is likely the total impact will be, too.
”It is looking as if the Treasury’s figure will be an overestimate rather than an underestimate,” he said.

HenryBeerGuzzler did you miss the point that the breweries have stated that the carbon tax effect will not be applied until NEXT February? Then frothy consumers will bearing the burden, landlords will begin using to increase leases (automatic in most commercial leases) and of course this too will be passed onto the consumer.
Probably nothing to do with the carbon tax, but I believe IGA Campbell will no longer sell liquor. It’s becoming a thirsty argument…

I don’t think you’re actually taking in the information you’re being provided with: this year’s electricity price rise is the lowest electricity price rise in 4 years.

And frankly, while it sadly isn’t legal for us to stockpile assault rifles and ammo in our cellars, I am however prepared for the coming bottlocalypse and have more than enough alcohol in my cellar and in my basement to last me several years.

maxblues6:19 pm 31 Oct 12

HenryBG said :

Gungahlin Al said :

You need to do a search on “carbon tax gold plating” and read up a bit on where the lion’s share of electricity price rises is going, and what electricity wholesalers are doing while they have the cover of the carbon tax to be pegged with the blame by people who know no better. And shockjocks on 2UE who do know better but choose to seldom let facts get in the way of a full-on beat-up. Even Malcolm Turnbull agrees: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/goldplating-lifts-power-prices-turnbull-20120811-2410x.html

Turnbull is living proof you don’t have to be retard to be in the Liberal Party.

So much for the nutters in the Liberal Party and their alarmism:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/cost-of-carbon-tax-less-than-estimated-20121024-285se.html

“THE carbon tax has boosted the cost of living scarcely at all. Despite dire talk of an ”almost unimaginable” increase (Tony Abbott) and $100 for a Sunday roast (Barnaby Joyce) the first official consumer price figures show a far lower impact than predicted by the Treasury.
Last July, Treasury said the tax would push up the consumer price index 0.70 percentage points, adding $9.90 per week to average household costs. In return, households were given compensation averaging $10.10 per week.
But 0.70 percentage points looks like being an overestimate. Inflation figures for the September quarter – the one that encompasses almost all of the electricity and gas price rises – show them adding 0.44 points to the CPI. It’s a big figure, but not that much bigger than the usual September quarter slug.
Melbourne households have endured a 13.6 per cent increase in electricity prices – unwelcome but well short of previous September quarter jumps of 19 per cent and 21 per cent.
Advertisement
Nationwide, electricity and gas price rises have added 0.25 and 0.33 points to the consumer price index in the past two September quarters. Treasury expected the gas and electricity price hikes to account for only half of the 0.70 boost, the rest being accounted for by businesses that passed them on.
But Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Blythe makes the point that if the electricity and gas impact is about half what was expected, it is likely the total impact will be, too.
”It is looking as if the Treasury’s figure will be an overestimate rather than an underestimate,” he said.

HenryBeerGuzzler did you miss the point that the breweries have stated that the carbon tax effect will not be applied until NEXT February? Then frothy consumers will bearing the burden, landlords will begin using to increase leases (automatic in most commercial leases) and of course this too will be passed onto the consumer.
Probably nothing to do with the carbon tax, but I believe IGA Campbell will no longer sell liquor. It’s becoming a thirsty argument…

HenryBG5:15 pm 31 Oct 12

Gungahlin Al said :

You need to do a search on “carbon tax gold plating” and read up a bit on where the lion’s share of electricity price rises is going, and what electricity wholesalers are doing while they have the cover of the carbon tax to be pegged with the blame by people who know no better. And shockjocks on 2UE who do know better but choose to seldom let facts get in the way of a full-on beat-up. Even Malcolm Turnbull agrees: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/goldplating-lifts-power-prices-turnbull-20120811-2410x.html

Turnbull is living proof you don’t have to be retard to be in the Liberal Party.

So much for the nutters in the Liberal Party and their alarmism:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/cost-of-carbon-tax-less-than-estimated-20121024-285se.html

“THE carbon tax has boosted the cost of living scarcely at all. Despite dire talk of an ”almost unimaginable” increase (Tony Abbott) and $100 for a Sunday roast (Barnaby Joyce) the first official consumer price figures show a far lower impact than predicted by the Treasury.
Last July, Treasury said the tax would push up the consumer price index 0.70 percentage points, adding $9.90 per week to average household costs. In return, households were given compensation averaging $10.10 per week.
But 0.70 percentage points looks like being an overestimate. Inflation figures for the September quarter – the one that encompasses almost all of the electricity and gas price rises – show them adding 0.44 points to the CPI. It’s a big figure, but not that much bigger than the usual September quarter slug.
Melbourne households have endured a 13.6 per cent increase in electricity prices – unwelcome but well short of previous September quarter jumps of 19 per cent and 21 per cent.
Advertisement
Nationwide, electricity and gas price rises have added 0.25 and 0.33 points to the consumer price index in the past two September quarters. Treasury expected the gas and electricity price hikes to account for only half of the 0.70 boost, the rest being accounted for by businesses that passed them on.
But Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Blythe makes the point that if the electricity and gas impact is about half what was expected, it is likely the total impact will be, too.
”It is looking as if the Treasury’s figure will be an overestimate rather than an underestimate,” he said.

NoImRight5:00 pm 31 Oct 12

maxblues said :

Gungahlin Al said :

maxblues said :

…like start an inquiry into why so many bottleshops are closing since the introduction of the carbon tax…Candamber has closed its Bunda St shop, Cox Kelly seem to have closed their doors and I hear the bottleshops next to LJ Hooker at Kippax is set to close.

Carbon tax comes in (for top handful of polluters). Bottleshops close. Therefore bottleshops closed because of carbon tax.

Wood floats. Ducks float. Therefore ducks are made of wood.

Because correlation ALWAYS equals causation…not.

You need to do a search on “carbon tax gold plating” and read up a bit on where the lion’s share of electricity price rises is going, and what electricity wholesalers are doing while they have the cover of the carbon tax to be pegged with the blame by people who know no better. And shockjocks on 2UE who do know better but choose to seldom let facts get in the way of a full-on beat-up. Even Malcolm Turnbull agrees: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/goldplating-lifts-power-prices-turnbull-20120811-2410x.html

Twice in a month I’m agreeing with HenryBG. WTF?

First let’s acknowledge the sad passing of Jimmy from the Wood Duck Inn. RIP
Secondly let’s mention the universally acknowledged effect the carbon tax will have on the CPI (higher than expected rise in September) which is used to calculate the twice yearly excise rise on your stubby of beer. No wood ducks about it, the carbon tax will increase the amount of excise the government extracts out of your stubbie. At the last beer price rise, on 1 Aug, the breweries made it clear in their correspondence that it was a normal excise/cost rise and that the effects of the carbon tax won’t kick in until the next excise rise on 1 Feb.
Thirdly, the unprecented number of bottleshops closing, is only happening since the introduction of the carbon tax. ‘Gold-plating’ has been going on for years with lack of regulation by the government but in the ten years prior to the introduction of the carbon tax, I can only think of one Canberra bottleshop closing and that was George’s at Braddon who I believe was offered a shitload by a wholesale baker who then turned it over to Ronald McDonald for a McCafe.
I would go on, but I have to duck off…

Thats a long post just to prove Gungahlin Al’s point.

maxblues4:34 pm 31 Oct 12

Gungahlin Al said :

maxblues said :

…like start an inquiry into why so many bottleshops are closing since the introduction of the carbon tax…Candamber has closed its Bunda St shop, Cox Kelly seem to have closed their doors and I hear the bottleshops next to LJ Hooker at Kippax is set to close.

Carbon tax comes in (for top handful of polluters). Bottleshops close. Therefore bottleshops closed because of carbon tax.

Wood floats. Ducks float. Therefore ducks are made of wood.

Because correlation ALWAYS equals causation…not.

You need to do a search on “carbon tax gold plating” and read up a bit on where the lion’s share of electricity price rises is going, and what electricity wholesalers are doing while they have the cover of the carbon tax to be pegged with the blame by people who know no better. And shockjocks on 2UE who do know better but choose to seldom let facts get in the way of a full-on beat-up. Even Malcolm Turnbull agrees: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/goldplating-lifts-power-prices-turnbull-20120811-2410x.html

Twice in a month I’m agreeing with HenryBG. WTF?

First let’s acknowledge the sad passing of Jimmy from the Wood Duck Inn. RIP
Secondly let’s mention the universally acknowledged effect the carbon tax will have on the CPI (higher than expected rise in September) which is used to calculate the twice yearly excise rise on your stubby of beer. No wood ducks about it, the carbon tax will increase the amount of excise the government extracts out of your stubbie. At the last beer price rise, on 1 Aug, the breweries made it clear in their correspondence that it was a normal excise/cost rise and that the effects of the carbon tax won’t kick in until the next excise rise on 1 Feb.
Thirdly, the unprecented number of bottleshops closing, is only happening since the introduction of the carbon tax. ‘Gold-plating’ has been going on for years with lack of regulation by the government but in the ten years prior to the introduction of the carbon tax, I can only think of one Canberra bottleshop closing and that was George’s at Braddon who I believe was offered a shitload by a wholesale baker who then turned it over to Ronald McDonald for a McCafe.
I would go on, but I have to duck off…

poetix4:00 pm 31 Oct 12

NoImRight said :

Holden Caulfield said :

I’m confused. Is a wood duck made of wood or duck?

How much wood would a wood duck duck if a would duck could duck wood?

I can’t even say that, let alone read it….

Just let it run from your tongue like splinters off a duck’s back.

Ouch!

Matt_Watts7:21 am 18 Oct 12

Mr Gillespie said :

HenryBG, you are ignoring the question by putting your own twist on my logic.

There is still no proof that climate change is real, you have been reading too many apocalyptic scenarios and there is no use just trying to stop it with your own 2 hands so you can feel good about it.

Anyway, let’s get back to the questions I put to our guest, instead of making him have to trawl through pages and pages of arguing.

I would call on the Speaker to ask that the interjecting cease, and the questioner and the candidate for Ginninderra are given the call. He has been kind enough to take some time out of the election trail just days out from the election, to take some questions from the electorate.

Mr Matt Watts, Liberal candidate for Ginninderra, thankyou for taking the time to talk to us today. I would like to ask you a couple of questions:

1. What is your position on the shopping bag issue?

2. What is your position regarding the needle exchange idea for the prison?

3. What issues with regards to law and order do you feel need work on?

4. What strategies do you propose with regards to Canberra’s transport and roads?

1. Recently answered.

2. Against it.

3. The sentencing situation in the ACT is a bit of a joke. That’s my main focus (and, in support of that, we need a more efficient public prosecutions office).

4. I don’t drive (yes, that makes it difficult to campaign) so I’m an avid user of public transport yet I still support cars. That’s why I’ve been kicking up a fuss about car parking within the Belconnen Town Centre (ie the govt keeps selling off car parks).

At present, the govt is carrying on as if there’s a “carrot and stick” approach to transport, where ACTION is the carrot and parking is the stick. In reality, ACTION needs so much improvement that what the govt is really managing is a “stick and stick” approach. I’ve met with a few drivers and they realise the flaws in the system, and we need to work on the management culture within ACTION.

Active transport is a great idea, and the community will be relatively healthier as a result. Unfortunately, there’s a catch… It’s true that the average 70 year old might one day be as healthy as the average 50 year old a couple of generations ago, yet death is certain. Old age, no matter the literal age, will still exist (unless the ALP/Greens bring in some sort of Soylent Green solution), so you can’t realistically expect society to abandon their cars, especially with an ageing population. Then there’s the practicalities, even without old age, of someone carrying their new plasma TV home on the back of bicycle.

You will always need car parks at shops, although the main pressure points for transport are those associated with work. We need better integrated park and rides, and better bus routes (ie stop adding stops to the Red Rapid!). It might be the case we will soon be moving to a situation where more and more people work at home, which would be beneficial to the congestion problem, yet we still need to focus on town centre parking to make up for the combined increase in office space and shops and the reduction in car parks.

We’ve annouced the duplication of several roads. I think we need to revisit the project management approach currently implemented within the ACT. For example, if you know you will need to duplicate a road at some point, it’s more efficient to build the necessary second bridge at the same time you’re building the first bridge both from a traffic management and a project management perspective.

Finally, planning ahead is crucial, and the government should be open with the community about their plans.

chewy146:49 pm 17 Oct 12

HenryBG said :

Mr Gillespie said :

TS, the 40% target is a meaningless piece of symbolism, Canberra is not in a place to stop the world’s climate from changing. The electorate (especially for a jurisdiction this small in size) shouldn’t be judging a candidate on their views on allegedly man-made climate change.

Ditto with garbage collection – collecting the garbage from Mr Gillespie’s street doesn’t make one iota of difference to the total amount of garbage collected in Canberra over the course of the year so we might as well cancel the garbage collection to that street.

Honestly, are there *still* people so stupid and careless with their reputations that they are willing to publicly own up to being a climate conspiracy theorist?

Get with the program, Mr G, you’ve been fed a bunch of propaganda by the energy companies who don’t want to lose the benefits of the externalised cost that is CO2 emission – *any* passing analysis of the supposed “arguments” against climate change instantly reveal those arguments to be a massive pile of total steaming bullshit.

The facts are incontravertable: CO2 in the atmosphere is going up, and isotopic analysis shows that CO2 is coming from the burning of fossil fuels.

The laws of physics are not about to be overturned – CO2 traps heat that would otherwise be escaping more quickly into space. Therefore the Earth will continue to heat up until escaping radiation reaches equilibrium with incoming radiation from the Sun – currently there is an imbalance, with more radiation coming in than going out. That radiation imbalance is what is heating up the planet.

This is all very basic science together with observable fact – the only reason anybody would consider any of it controversial would be if they were gullible enough to believe the easily-spotted lies of the energy lobby.

I fully believe in climate change but your garbage analogy doesn’t cut it.

It’s more like me thinking I can make a difference to total garbage by spending money to reduce my own usage whilst most of my neighbours, who produce the majority or garbage, refuse to do anything to reduce their garbage. Without my neighbours involvement, the results will be negligible.

We need to base anything we do on sensible targets that don’t unnecessarily hamper our city for no tangible gain.
If the desired outcome is simply to reduce our reliance on polluting fossil fuels, then they should say that and not hide behind climate change.

Masquara2:17 pm 07 Oct 12

Girt_Hindrance said :

Masquara, you are failing to cover this issue up- ‘we’ haven’t established anything, and if you read the part of my last post that you personally quoted, it includes the word ‘Owner’. Clearly, and follow this logical progression closely, if he has hired the vehicle, then he isn’t the owner. Simple stuff.
Why is it a hard question to get an answer for?

Girt – what answer are you looking for? “I hired it”, “I own it”, “I borrowed it” – now, which of those answers is an issue? You appear to be attempting to sniff out some fantastical story that Zed has fraudulently registered a trailer in New South Wales rather than the ACT in order to save on registration fees. Just supposing that it IS registered in Zed’s name: In order to register a trailer in New South Wales, Zed would have to own property there. In general, I would have thought, if you have a rural property in NSW that is where you will usually be using a large trailer, rather than in your suburban house. Bringing your NSW registered trailer into the ACT to use it locally for a few weeks is not going to alarm the authorities. If the trailer is insured as housed in New South Wales, whatever the insurance policy states regarding disclosure would need to be followed. However, you have not established that the trailer is registered in Zed’s name. You have not dismissed the likelihood that he has borrowed or hired the trailer. It sounds as though your issue is more likely to be with a local hire company “saving on registration fees”. What do you base that on? What national hire company would do such? Presumably a national hire company arranges with the authorities just how they will manage their registrations, and then presumably under sound management they will be followed (if for nothing else, in order to not risk insurance premiums).
In order to back up your claim that there is some issue, you would need to have evidence that said hire company didn’t “just happen” to have NSW plated trailer in stock because it happened to have arrived from a hirer who had been in New South Wales and picked up said trailer from a different hire company franchise.
So what exactly is the issue here that pertains to Zed and the election campaign?

Reply View 1 reply

johnboy2:31 pm 07 Oct 12

Ok you two, that’s enough on this one.

Reply Hide replies

Matt_Watts11:03 am 03 Oct 12

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

Regarding a dragway, we haven’t announced anything yet I’m on the record from 2008 as supporting it (ie not banning it) yet I don’t think government funds should be used to prop it up. If someone wants to build one, please contact me.

As for the tripling of rates vs abolition of stamp duty, I agree there are merits; it’s just that, on balance, from my point of view and the point of view of the Canberra Liberals, these are outweighed by the negatives you pointed out. As I’ve stated, I believe the current government’s rates proposal is regressive.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd10:35 am 02 Oct 12

460cixy said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Golden-Alpine said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

The term motor sport is misleading. It’s not a legitimate sport, hell it’s not even a sport.

Your name says it all….

Explain.

Think what there saying mate is get a life

I don’t see what that has to do with the discussion at hand.

Mysteryman10:31 am 02 Oct 12

vauxhall said :

Matt_Watts said :

vauxhall said :

The candidate’s comments on gay marriage are disappointing, and ending them with a throw-away “It’s time to be outcomes-focussed” insulting to those who seek it as a basic human right.

Too many contradictions in basic stances here – against nanny state, but want to regulate against gay marriage and for strong regulation of abortion. Tries to dodge gay marriage on basis that it’s ‘for the Feds’ and then argues the ACT should be strongly involved in other areas of Federal responsibility. A bizarre reversion to talking about Federal Labor when asked about thoughts on religion’s role in policy.

Seems a nice enough guy, but inconsistent and clearly way too undercooked for this election.

Rubbish, frankly (oh, aside from the comment about me being a nice guy, I suppose!). In no way am I inconsistent. I’ve been completely open regarding my views. My proposals are focussed on outcomes. If you wish to suggest an alternative, please, by all means, submit it.

How on earth is what I said rubbish? You’ll need to get a thicker skin if you want to be in politics. The alternative on gay marriage is allow it to occur – there is an extremely clear inconsistency in your stated rhetoric of being against a nanny state and then wanting to regulate for it to not apply to homosexuals, not to mention the inconsistencies in your repeated comments about being against the influence of religion in matters of state and then saying that you want to let religions determine who they marry.

Being open about your views does not prevent you having logical inconsistencies with them, and leaves you wide open for voting unpredictably (should you not just be voting against party lines).

I think Jethro summed it up quite nicely too.

No, Matt was right. What you said was total rubbish. There were no contradictions in what Matt said, and he deferred to the federal government on marriage laws because the Australian constitution makes outlines marriage and a federal issue. You should have known that before making your comments.

460cixy7:48 am 02 Oct 12

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

Golden-Alpine said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

The term motor sport is misleading. It’s not a legitimate sport, hell it’s not even a sport.

Your name says it all….

Explain.

Think what there saying mate is get a life

Darkfalz4:21 am 02 Oct 12

CanberraChristina said :

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

A dragway is always going to be a NIMBY issue. Who wants to hear that horrible noise, seriously? It’s bad enough when one goon tears down a nearby street making sure that everyone for 5 blocks knows what a tosser he is, imagine that being every 60 seconds. As for being a “worthwhile” hobby, to each their own I suppose, but I can’t imagine a bigger waste of time and money.

CanberraChristina said :

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

Stamp duty needs to go, but tripling rates is not the answer. The whole point of buying a house is that you own it outright, not having to pay a slightly cheaper version of rent. Rates should cover actual property expenses, not be a revenue raiser for the government. That’s what GST is for.

I’d like to see the caps for FHB stamp duty exception raised or removed all together. You can then scrap the FOHG for all I care. If you can’t save for a house deposit you shouldn’t be gifted it, but stamp duty is another matter. It’s highway robbery when you can least afford it, and one of the reasons that people stay put in places they’d rather not be any more rather than putting another place on the market.

Darkfalz4:10 am 02 Oct 12

earthrepair said :

“For some reason I’m personally 100% against abortion”. If policy is your forte and I guess as a politician it should be then saying “for some reason” as if you don’t know the reason is dumb. Perhaps drop the 100%. What about a woman that has been raped with a down’s syndrome child, would you accept her right to an abortion?

He sounds pretty cogent here. My opinion of abortion is that it’s distasteful, but it’s one of society’s necessary evils. Ron Paul said it best in one of the GOP debates, that the increased abortion rate / need for abortion is an adjustment to a change (lessening) of morals in society, not the cause of it. You need to address the root cause (in this case, impulsive unprotected sex) rather than what it results in. With our increasingly “hedonism is a virtue” society (almost everyone under the age 30 thinks and behaves like this) we are well and truly past fixing this, so there’s not much point in trying.

earthrepair said :

I can understand why the Lesbian and Gay community would be offended by your stance on gay marriage.

Is there anything that wouldn’t offend them other than hook, line and sinker acceptance of their demands? The “Civil unions are not good enough” attitude reveals it’s got nothing to do with equal rights and everything to do with scoring some kind of social victory. It’s interesting too because I am sure there are plenty of gay couples who’d be perfectly happy with a civil union, but much like those who agree polygamists should also be able to marry, they’re told to shut up to give the illusion of a unified front.

Not sure what Matt Watts is trying to achieve here. The Labor plugging has been heavy handed the last few months, so it’s clear where JB’s allegiances lie. Most of the posters here are die hard lefties who start to foam at the mouth whenever they hear someone admit they don’t agree with gay marriage (an almost non-issue in my opinion which seems to have hijacked all intelligent political debate over the last few years).

Despite it being much closer than usual, it would still be a miracle for Labor to be turfed out after what seems liked decades of having to put up with Stanhope and Gallagher. I’m much more interested in the Federal election next year.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd9:55 pm 01 Oct 12

Golden-Alpine said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

The term motor sport is misleading. It’s not a legitimate sport, hell it’s not even a sport.

Your name says it all….

Explain.

Golden-Alpine9:12 pm 01 Oct 12

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

The term motor sport is misleading. It’s not a legitimate sport, hell it’s not even a sport.

Your name says it all….

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd8:36 pm 01 Oct 12

CanberraChristina said :

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

The term motor sport is misleading. It’s not a legitimate sport, hell it’s not even a sport.

CanberraChristina6:24 pm 01 Oct 12

LSWCHP said :

Matt_Watts said :

460cixy said :

Well Matthew what’s your opinion on weapons in Canberra. I know I don’t like the idea of red necks owning high powered guns in canberras suburbs are you or your party looking at tightening our weak gun laws?

Our gun laws are not weak. The use of the term “red necks” doesn’t help anyone.

I just spent a pleasant couple of hours at the range with my eldest son and three high powered guns. I was disheartened to read that past, and pleased by Matt’s response.

We certainly have strong gun laws in the ACT, they just need to be enforced, and I’m all in favour of that. And I’m a tertiary educated professional person with job, house, children etc. If I qualify as a red neck then the term needs to be redefined.
…

+1 I’m a mid 20s female lawyer who also happens to be a gun owner and occasional hunter, though its more the husband’s hobby than mine. He’s a fisher too. Our gun laws are fine, and quite sensible IMO. A home cooked meal of freshly killed and butchered wild venison or eating fish so fresh that was swimming in the Murrumbidgee hours before makes me pretty damn pleased to be a redneck. Red wine and berry jus, anyone?

At the risk of really pegging myself as a redneck – Matt, I would like to know what the liberals view on the long promised but never delivered dragway / motorsport facility for the ACT? Motorsport is a legitimate sport and, IMO having grown up with alot of young men who are into cars and mechanics, a very worthwhile hobby for young men to dedicate their energy and funds too.

Just as a bit of general feedback, I too disappointed with the liberal campaign focusing on labor “tripling rates”. I feel that the campaign is negative, misleading and insults the intelligence of voters. Stamp duty is well acknowledged to be one of the most inefficient and uneconomical taxes and phasing it out over a 20 year period is one of the soundest (and bravest) policies I have seen around for a long time. Despite having nothing to gain and everything to loose from the change as someone who has already paid stamp duty (more than once) and pays rates (on more than one property), I strongly support it because I think it makes very good economic sense.

Chello11:48 pm 29 Sep 12

LABOR POLICY 2011-2012
TRANSPORT PLANNING and ROAD SAFETY

3. Provide leadership in training and preparation of new vehicle controllers to ensure their fitness to
control the chosen mode of transport (e.g. Truck, 4WD, Motorcycle, or bicycle)
…..-(i thought that was what obtaining your licence covered)

6. Improve road side barriers to align with international best practice in relation to that improve
safety outcomes for powered two and three wheeled vehicles
…… (we want to put more crap on the roads for you to look out for)

1. Establish a Canberra Transport Authority (CTA)
2. Recognising the transport inefficiencies in Canberra that arise from a dependence on the private
motor vehicle, prepare a comprehensive transport plan, with wide public consultation, to serve
the ACT to the year 2020…..
.(we would like you to stop using your car, and use your bike or the bus, and we will conduct a fool ‘consultation with the public’…..if they chance upon us in the mall or however we choose to consult the public.

3. Ensure that in developing a transport plan the CTA will adopt an integrated sustainable transport
model based on: Walking Cycling, Motorcycling, and an effective and efficient public transport
system that meets the infrastructure and service requirements of the ACT community.
…..(eg cars now have to give way to pedestrians and cyclist crossing the road around Lake Ginnenderra)

2. Implement parking and motor vehicle policies that redress the adverse environmental and
economic impact of inappropriate vehicle usage
……. (we have determined that the majority of Canberrans use their car in a way we don’t approve of so we might just piss you off with less parking places and more cyclists on the roads to encourage you to change your habits )
b) Setting fees and charges to reflect the economic and environmental costs and benefits
associated with each mode of transport .
…..(In accordance with our Pricing Policy) (we want your all on the bus or on a bike and we will charge you to kingdom come if you don’t comply)

Matt_Watts9:32 am 29 Sep 12

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

QUESTIONS!!!

Matt, please talk about these:

Drug reform views?

Gay marriage views?

100% open and transparent government?

Stopping dole bludger welfare culture?

Police creating a us and them mentality and how to stop it?

Why is the hospital system so poor and how can it be fixed?

Religious views being incorporated into legislation(zed)?

A woman’s right to have a abortion and a very sick persons right to be euthanised?

These eight topics are major concerns for me. Please discuss. Please note ant single answer containing * durrrrr labour and greens bad, liberals good durrr* will be dis regarded. Don’t tow the party line, sir, speak your mind.

( perhaps a bit much to ask?)

Why is it too much to ask?

Drug reform views?
I am personally against the use of illicit drugs, yet I believe there is scope for some drug reform (and that is a personal view, not an official view of the Liberals – I don’t believe there are any plans for reform in either direction). Having said that, I am dead against any needle exchange in the prison. What I can’t understand is these academics trying to ban alcohol for law-abiding citizens at the same time they are calling for taxpayer funded drugs to be provided to prisoners. Nuts.

Gay marriage views?
For as long as the Feds have the capacity to override the ACT’s legislation, I consider this to be a Federal issue. Nonetheless, I believe in the separation of church and state, and I’m against the current black vs white framing of the issue. Ideally (and this, again, is a personal viewpoint and not official Lib policy), the only officially recognised union would be a civil union, and any “marriage” would be conducted by a religion as per their own rules. I have spoken to a few people about this, and I’m told this is akin to the German model (happy to be corrected). The end result would be equality under law for all unions, and religions can decide who marries within their church. It’s time to be outcomes-focussed.

100% open and transparent government?
Yes… If elected to government, we’re establishing the Public Administraton Commissioner. This is very important to me; several years ago I assisted in the Palmer and Comrie enquiries and a few resultant projects, so I realise the importance of organisational culture. There should never again be a situation where someone feels obliged to falsify health data, let alone conduct that fraud. I have a big interest in administrative law and 100% believe in open and transparent government. One thing that irks me about the ACT public service is that lack of service standards, and obviously I’ll be looking at implementing those.

Stopping dole bludger welfare culture?
There’s a big overlap with the Feds, but I want to see the ACT work with them to improve people’s capacity to assist themselves. I’m not happy with the present system; look at the situation of a person in public housing, on the dole. If they get a job, dependent on the amount of income, they are likely to lose part or all of their dole (Feds) AND pay market rent on their home (ACT). It’s a double whammy that discourages people from self-improvement, and I reckon there’s scope to gradate one’s payment to the Feds and the ACT.

We also need to ensure residents in public housing take care of their homes.

Police creating a us and them mentality and how to stop it?
Not sure to what extent this is happening, but it comes down to the law AND Ministerial accountability. Public servants often create self-serving statistics (I should know), and you need to have someone asking the right questions in Estimates and in the chamber. I think the cops do a good job given the laws they are administering.

Why is the hospital system so poor and how can it be fixed?
The problems stem from cultural failings; it starts at the top. We need to end the bullying, reduce the spin doctors and useless bureaucrats and start supporting those on the front-line. If you do that, people will want to work in the ACT hospital system.

Religious views being incorporated into legislation(zed)?
You’re obviously making a comment about Zed’s religion, yet despite all the policies that have been announced by the Libs during this campaign I can’t locate one that has incorporated religious views. I’d be interested in whether you asked the same thing of Labor when Kevid Rudd was leader. Anyway, I’ve already stated I’m in favour of separation of church and state.

A woman’s right to have a abortion and a very sick persons right to be euthanised?
There are no plans to amend the status quo in relation to either of these, so I’m not expecting a change.

Abortion – I’m not a doctor, I’m not a woman, and I’ve never had to experience such a decision. Yet everyone has a view. For some reason I’m personally 100% against abortion, although I recognise government is there for everyone and, if abortion were banned, more problems would be created given the nature of human behaviour. I’d never vote to completely ban it, but I believe there should be strict regulation.

Euthanasia for extremely sick people – personally against it, but wouldn’t legislate against it. This is going to be an increasingly important issue with the ageing population. A mate of mine says he wants to be eaten by a lion when he turns 80 (he’d like there to be a good story around it) – can we ban that? I doubt it. I note this is largely a federal issue given the NT situation several years ago.

I repeat – there are no Canberra Liberal plans to change the status quo for marriage, abortion or euthanasia. But I’ve provided my personal views as requested.

I’m running to improve basic services that will benefit everyone. With any change, I should point out that I support active community consultation; at present, consultation is a “tick-a-box” activity.

JC6:46 am 29 Sep 12

Matt_Watts said :

Thanks for the question. I hope my own approach, including being accessible via the RiotACT, indicates my respect for the Canberra voter. People can ask me anything in this forum.

The fact is the legislation to increase rates has been passed; many ratepayers are starting to notice it. The expected result, on average, is that rates will triple.

As a public servant, I understand the approach the government is taking; I don’t agree with it, though, because it’s unfair to those people who have already paid their stamp duty and it’s unfair to those on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, who may be forced out of their family home. The government’s so-called reforms are regressive.

I reject the claim that this is gutter politics. If Labor or the Greens hadn’t passed the legislation, you wouldn’t hear the Liberals informing the community about it. What do you expect us to do? Just let it slide? If you don’t agree with a policy, it’s your democratic right to fight it. Equally, if you agree with a policy, it’s your right to fight for it (not that we’ve been hearing much from Labor or the Greens on this rates/ stamp duty issue).

And, I should point out, we have plenty of positive policies out there. Just this morning I was at the Libs’ liquor licensing policy launch, which has been really well received. I’m quite proud of the policy because it reflects consultation with the community. Back in 2010 I in fact held some meetings with licensees and met with the Liberals and the Greens (Corbell wouldn’t meet me), and it’s nice to see us a step closer to the outcome we set out to achieve.

Of course rates will tripple! They will tripple if you get into power too. The question of course is over what time span will they tripple? That’s where the Libs add is quite cleaver because you infer it will be tomorrow and the world is going to come to an but you don’t ever say how long that will take. Same too with the figures about how things have gone up previously, no context what so ever as to over what time and how it relates to other thing such as income. So not a lie, but not really 100% truthful. I like PS0104 would call that gutter politics.

Anyway I can tell you that you or the libs won’t be getting my vote, despite you appearing to be a nice guy. Why well because your fearless leader has been carping on in recent weeks as to how he and the team have been working hard for the last 4 years. My memory is quite long and for the last 4 years all I’ve heard is whinging, to me that isn’t working hard.

I hope you get in but are in opposition for another 4 years and I hope that rather than whinging for those 4 years that from day 1 you start to give me reason to vote liberal again in the ACT (which incidentally is how I have voted in a couple of ACT elections in the past).

Matt_Watts3:18 pm 28 Sep 12

ps0104 said :

Hi Matt, thanks for a really good outline of who you are and what has led you to be a candidate in the election. I hope some of the other candidates follow your lead.

I do have a question. In a previous thread, there was some discussion about the fact that the Canberra Liberals have been pushing the ‘Labor will triple your rates’ line in a far too sensationalist and ‘cheap politics’ way. In my post on that thread, I outlined that I am normally a Liberal voter, but the behaviour of the Canberra Liberals on this issue has absoloutely disgusted me to the point where I am now having a serious look at the other parties.

The question is- Do you think it’s about time the Canberra Liberals picked themselves up from the gutter politics and treated the ACT electorate with at least a little bit of intelligence rather than just screaming “But Labor will triple your rates!!!!!!” at every opportunity?

I’m not for a minute suggesting that the whole debate about rates is not an important one to have, but I would be interested to hear your views on the behaviour of your party on this because, judging by the other thread on this issue, I am not alone in my opinion.

Thanks for the question. I hope my own approach, including being accessible via the RiotACT, indicates my respect for the Canberra voter. People can ask me anything in this forum.

The fact is the legislation to increase rates has been passed; many ratepayers are starting to notice it. The expected result, on average, is that rates will triple.

As a public servant, I understand the approach the government is taking; I don’t agree with it, though, because it’s unfair to those people who have already paid their stamp duty and it’s unfair to those on fixed incomes, such as pensioners, who may be forced out of their family home. The government’s so-called reforms are regressive.

I reject the claim that this is gutter politics. If Labor or the Greens hadn’t passed the legislation, you wouldn’t hear the Liberals informing the community about it. What do you expect us to do? Just let it slide? If you don’t agree with a policy, it’s your democratic right to fight it. Equally, if you agree with a policy, it’s your right to fight for it (not that we’ve been hearing much from Labor or the Greens on this rates/ stamp duty issue).

And, I should point out, we have plenty of positive policies out there. Just this morning I was at the Libs’ liquor licensing policy launch, which has been really well received. I’m quite proud of the policy because it reflects consultation with the community. Back in 2010 I in fact held some meetings with licensees and met with the Liberals and the Greens (Corbell wouldn’t meet me), and it’s nice to see us a step closer to the outcome we set out to achieve.

View more conversations

Featured Businesses

Lawyers

Kamy Saeedi Law

When you need a criminal or commercial lawyer, you don’t want to take any chances. You want someone in your corner that you can trust like your life depends on it - because it does.

Find out more

Community Club

Canberra Southern Cross Club

We're proud to give you a place where friends and family can come together for good food and great entertainment.

Find out more

Mortgage Brokers

Clarity Home Loans

A passionate team of Canberrans helping other Canberrans secure their home loans. No frills, no commissions, no brainer.

Find out more

Professional Services

RSM

We share skills, insight and resources, as well as a client-centric approach that's based on a deep understanding of your business.

Find out more

Insurance Brokers

allinsure

Allinsure has been a trusted insurance advisory to thousands of Australian business owners for almost 20 years.

Find out more

Electricians

True Connection Electrical

Since 2014, True Connection Electrical have been servicing residential and small commercial clients with reliable, trustworthy and top-quality electrical work.

Find out more