Tell me about yourself.

I’ve been married for 24 years and am the father of four children.

I started out in the family business as an apprentice fitter and machinist in the engineering, transport and construction industry in West Wyalong.

I eventually transferred to a company called Royan’s truck repairs. Through further studies and work I made my way through to be the national manager.

I stayed there for about 15 years. I then decided I wanted to have a tree change. I always wanted to get back to the land, so I left there and bought an irrigation property just west of Wagga.

What landed me in politics was the Murray-Darling Basin Plan; the lack of procedure and the obstructionist behaviour of local government, and I guess all the problems we are still facing to this day.

Being known as the outspoken councillor, as they like to call me, I like to think I’m just an outspoken individual who is championing the cause for many people.

You’re on Wagga City Council, why did you decide to take the leap into state politics?

The final blow in this byelection was when the Liberal Party turned around and told the National Party they couldn’t run.

That is stripping away people’s rights to democracy, so with that, I felt I had no choice but to throw the hat into the ring.

I am the natural alternative to the National Party. I am the honest alternative for the Liberal Party, but I’m a leader who will put the communities ahead.

Imagine what we could achieve with an independent of my experience in this seat.

You tend to identify more on the Conservative side of politics?

I am as conservative as they come. Some people say I am too conservative. I wouldn’t consider myself too conservative. I am very centrist in my thinking.

I have a broad range of knowledge across many industries, and I bring that to the table. I have an enormous network of people within different industries because no one knows everything, and that’s the trouble with politicians and political parties these days. They believe they are the masters of our destiny. No they’re not. This is about representing our people to the government of the day.

I’m in favour of small government. Put the critical infrastructure in place and then get out of the way and let the private sector do what its got to do.

But retain utilities as state assets – our power, our water, our gas. Our natural resources should belong to the government and that is what can stimulate economic growth, and with economic growth comes communities, hospitals, doctors, nurses, school teachers; the fabric of society. Even arts and culture fit into that category.

If you have an independent in the seat, I can negotiate with either party. It doesn’t matter who’s in power.

Do you see being independent as an advantage?

I think as most people know, I guess, I can be a bit of a handful at times, but that being said, I’m very passionate about what I do; passionate about representing the people and doing what’s right. That doesn’t always suit a political party.

As an independent, I answer to no-one but the people.

So you’ve been out on the hustings. What are you hearing from the people of Wagga about what the electorate needs?

The obvious one is, of course, health infrastructure there’s no doubt about that.

But health is not just the Wagga Base Hospital.

We’ve got a growing region. It’s got to be a holistic approach. 

If you built Griffith, built Tumut and actually create allied health services with them, what happens? All of a sudden people from those areas or even from Wagga might go up and get things done there.

That actually takes the pressure off Wagga, but also supports the regions they’re in.

Health is obviously the elephant in the room, but further to that, we need heavy and light industry here because  – and this is how it all integrates – if you’ve got a good health system, if you’ve got industry, you’ve got economic growth.

But to get economic growth, you need the state and federal governments – particularly state – to inject capital infrastructure. Such as, we need a massive pipeline into Bomen and decent power supply facilities.

But of course we can’t because they’ve sold them off. Council can’t afford it, the ratepayers can’t afford it, so we’re at the mercy of the private sector.

So unless we get intervention by the state, it’s going to struggle.

But if they did that, it’s almost like the Field of Dreams – build it and they will come, because if industry needs gas, it needs power.

If they can put that critical infrastructure in and then get out of the way, the private sector can do the rest, but the state still owns it.

If people have got jobs and that economic stimulus, they will want to live here. We’ve got multiple flights in and out of Wagga every day.

We’ve got a growing population, even as far as Lockhart because they’ve got an industrial estate there.

But what is critical to that is water, power and economic stimulus.

The other thing is government red tape and overburdening has to be stripped out.

The local government act has to be overhauled, not some tick and flick. Tumbarumba needs to be allowed to de-merge.

Police need support and resources. We need a second police station here.