The Daily Advertiser is profiling each of the people vying to win the seat of Riverina at the May 21 election.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
To help you get to know them, we've asked some key questions - including why they're standing, what they believe are the biggest issues in need of attention, and what their key policies are.
Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party candidate Steve Karaitiana, 60, from Forbes, used to take to the ring as a boxer in travelling shows and now he says he is fighting against a housing shortage in the Riverina.
Mr Karaitiana was elected to Forbes Shire Council in 2016 and says he's the only candidate to represent the Riverina's northern areas at next Saturday's election.
What do you do professionally outside of politics?
I have been involved with working with Indigenous programs and building infrastructure for Indigenous people.
I'm a travelling showman out of three generations of boxing tent families in Roy Bell's Touring Stadium. That's where I grew up, born and raised on the show circuit across the length and breadth of Australia.
That was my lifestyle for many years, travelling and supplying equipment for country shows. I was in the ring many times and so was my father and my grandfather; we're three generations of tent fighters as it was the entertainment before the days of amusement rides along with magic shows and 'Vanessa the Undresser' .
How long have you lived in the Riverina?
My family sent me here to school in 1968 at Tullamore and in 1973 to Red Bend Catholic College as a boarder and I returned here in 1989 to put my own children to school here in Forbes and purchasing a property and I'm still here today; this is my base.
There was no schooling on the showgrounds in those days.
Why have you chosen to run for election?
I'm springboarding off [Orange MP] Phil Donato, the state member here for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers - he has done such a good job here in the electorate along with [NSW Barwon MP] Roy Butler.
I, being a councillor, had many catch-ups with those guys for a whole range of things and I just thought they had done such a great job that when the opportunity came along and they approached me and asked if I was interested in running for the SFF, that was the reason that I ran.
They have played such a significant role in the northern end of the electorate, I thought I could springboard off that.
We have had unprecedented funding from state and federal governments in the northern end of the electorate and I thank [Mr Donato and Mr Butler] solely for that.
When you have got another party in power and the government wants them out of it, the only thing they can do is throw money at the electorate and that is what they have done here.
What sparked your first interest in politics?
My working with Indigenous people in Arnhem Land, building infrastructure and mentoring in the 1990s, and seeing the challenges that have not been able to be addressed.
There are over 700 people on the waiting list for social housing in the Riverina.
To me, there hasn't been a focus on social housing and I thought the most vulnerable people, families with small children are couch surfing or sleeping rough and that is just not acceptable.
Who are your political heroes?
At the moment I don't really have political heroes [in the current federal system]; I'm pretty disappointed in how this country is being managed.
I have always liked Bob Hawke, he was a great fighter for this country but I haven't seen anybody since with that kind of tenacity. I also like John Howard, probably ahead of Bob Hawke.
Bob Hawke was a character, a likeable bloke. He wasn't always politically correct and partly I see a bit of him in me at the present.
What are the biggest issues/policies you're running on this election campaign?
Social housing, again. It's a huge issue for myself. I'm trying to get the government focused on social housing and, to me, it has not been focused on in a serious nature.
Hospitals and nurses and so on are another huge issue.
The lack of work and lack of skilled workers in this country is another huge issue in the electorate and right around Australia.
For the region, I'd like to ensure that raising of the wall for Wyangala Dam [near Cowra] is completed, and the Newell Highway is flood-proofed.
What does the Riverina need transitioning out of COVID?
There is a lack of housing. We need to have places where people can come and stay as we need to attract people here to work.
Every council and every small business can't get staff and that's a major problem here in the region.
Every industry is lacking staff and there's no housing for them so that's a priority that we must attract workers to the region.
But we also need to provide accommodation.
It is too hard to find a rental property or buy a house. There is a housing shortage and it's unfortunate that it wasn't been focused on.
Housing shortages have been an issue here for a long time.
Will the Riverina vote on local candidates or party leaders?
I think the Riverina will vote on kitchen-table issues and for the candidate who can solve them.
The rising costs of groceries, the rising cost of fuel, accessibility to health services across the electorate, accessibility to work opportunities: I think they will be the issues that the Riverina will be voting on.
They are the big issues in my opinion.
People are on their knees, to be honest, and they are only really focused on the daily issues and trying to solve those rising costs that we have.
It's a shame that we are in this situation but I have canvassed the different communities we have in the electorate and the feedback I am constantly getting is about the rising cost of living for food, fuel and electricity.
In some places it is the lack of transport and diminishing hospitals and having to travel quite big distances to be able to get your medical checks and so on: they are the huge issues at the moment.
What gives you hope running in such a safe seat?
To me it was always going to be a challenge but I'm up for the challenge.
I think myself being the only representative from the north of the electorate, I think if I can get myself out there enough and get people to understand our policies - and I think we have very good policies - then we're in with a chance.
It's going to be a preference game and I'm still positive going though this election. I'm confident that I will get great support in the northern region of the Riverina.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Download our app from the Apple Store or Google Play
- Bookmark dailyadvertiser.com.au
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters