Cost of living, public safety and transport dominate community meeting
Cost of living pressures, community safety, transportation and infrastructure were the main concerns voiced by residents at the Stafford election candidates forum on Wednesday night.
by-election second offline The poll has been conducted since the LNP came to government in October 2024. Death of Congressman Jimmy Sullivan At the beginning of April.
Sullivan was sitting as an independent after being expelled from the Labor Party last year. highly publicized personal struggles.
between Nine candidates are competing in the by-electionSeven people attended the forum.
Alan Denaro (First Family Party), Damian Smart (independent), Daniel Selff (Libertarian Party), Jacqueline Verne (Legalization of Cannabis in Queensland), Jess Lane (Greens), Liam Parry (independent) and Luke Richmond (Labour) attended the meeting.
Liberal National Party candidate Fiona Hammond and Animal Justice Party’s Lucy O’Brien were unable to attend.
Rising cost of living and household pressures were the most consistent concerns voiced by residents; candidates asked what they would fight for in the first 12 months to solve these problems.
Denaro said he will communicate and coordinate with community organizations to connect more quickly with those in need.
Richmond said the community needs urgent cost-of-living support. “The missing piece right now is something that relieves the pressure immediately,” he said.
Richmond advocated for investment in healthcare and immediate action on issues such as the fuel crisis.
Parry said ordinary people were suffering and priorities needed to change, such as urgently increasing wages for nurses, teachers and transport workers.
Smart said energy and insurance prices should be reduced and said he would advocate investing in green energy and overhauling insurance systems.
Lane said nearly half of voters are renters, so he will fight to cap rents and strengthen tenants’ rights.
Selff, on the other hand, said that he would advocate changing tax systems and removing some elements.
Residents also said community safety is a major concern for voters. Candidates were asked what they could do to make residents feel safer.
Parry said he doesn’t believe locking up children is helpful and that a better solution would focus on providing people with health services, including mental health, and housing.
“I think a lot of crime comes from poverty and people who are desperate,” he said. “I think we need to bring some empathy back into these discussions.”
Richmond said the LNP’s methods were not working and people did not feel safer.
“It’s really important to make sure we have more police on the ground… police officers on the ground have never been weaker,” he said.
He said there was a need to invest in front-line services, including teachers who have direct access to children in need.
Lane said the government can’t get away with crime and that it would be more effective to meet the needs of the community.
“If you want crime to be eliminated, poverty has to be eliminated,” he said.
Selff said police presence is the best deterrent, and introducing programs to schools can also help. He said he would consult with the community on such programs in his first days in Parliament.
Verne said he supports purposeful policing, focusing on methods to reduce risk and harm rather than just appearing tough.
Denaro said he firmly believes in the “castle law,” which allows residents to use lethal force against home intruders.
Smart said police should be respected and calls for a castle law should be approached with caution.
Public transportation was another major concern for residents, and candidates were asked what they thought was the most important transportation solution for the area.
Lane said he wants public transport, which the Greens have been advocating for years, to be more frequent and free.
Richmond said local residents were disappointed with the government’s handling of transportation and infrastructure issues in the area, and if elected he would ensure its commitments to the community were met.
Denaro said other transportation corridors need to be explored and that infrastructure was never designed for increased demand or alternative forms of transportation.
Parry said the government should invest in public transport and do so by increasing taxes on high-income earners.
Verne said transport costs were a major issue for society and the government should investigate whether public transport could be free during peak hours.
Selff’s top transport priority was the Gympie tunnel bypass, which would benefit the community in the long term.
The sustainable growth of the region was also a concern for local people, and candidates were asked how they would make this growth economical, functional and equitable.
Richmond said the LNP’s cuts to affordable housing quotas should be reversed so that housing was available to all and linked to population growth.
Verne said voters need more townhomes and are looking to expand, and infrastructure needs to grow along with housing to meet demand.
Lane said Stafford voters are dealing with gentrification that is pushing locals out of the area.
“I would like to see the government go back to social and state housing,” he said.
Smart said regulations on how many times a landlord can increase rent could be counterproductive by encouraging larger rent increases and should be looked at.
Parry said housing was not seen as a human right and the government should build more public housing. He said the real estate market cannot handle the impact of the 2032 Olympics, which will have to be cancelled.
Selff said immigration should be limited to reduce housing demand.
Denaro also said the Olympics should be canceled and immigration limited. He also advocated for changes to retirement asset tests; He said this could cause people looking to sell their homes to hold on to these tests.
Early voting has started for the midterm elections to be held on May 16.
