Greens candidate is Noosa’s best choice

Posted by Jim on July 31, 2010

Noosa’s best chance of representation by a candidate who understands the community is the Greens’ candidate for Wide Bay, Jim McDonald.

Jim has been a resident of Noosa for 15 years and has been involved in the community during that time.  He stood for Council in 2004 and has been involved in various community activities since becoming a resident.  He has been president of Noosa Chorale, a lecturer in negotiation for Noosa U3A and for a time on the U3A Committee, a volunteer speaker for the Australian Heart Foundation.  Early this year, he ensured that the Sunshine Beach community became aware of Council proposals to change Sunshine Beach village. His article in the Noosa News led to a large turnout of residents at a Council briefing session letting the Council know the community position, which had been neglected in consultation processes.  Jim is also a member of Noosa Arts theatre and edited an online theatre newsletter and bulletin for the Sunshine Coast.

Jim McDonald on the campaign trail

As the Greens candidate for Wide Bay Jim has thrown his support behind the Kin Kin community’s concerns about the expansion of the Kin Kin quarry and PAGE, which is trying to protect beautiful hills habitat in the Noosa hinterland from Powerlink’s proposed high voltage transmission lines through Eerwah Vale.  The Greens also support Noosa’s de-amalgamation from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council and informed the Friends of Noosa about that a couple of months ago.  Neither the Labor candidate nor the sitting member understands our concerns about the negative effects of amalgamation on the Noosa community.  Once part of a viable and solvent Shire Noosa residents have inherited rising rates in a debt-ridden regional council. We support a Council which unites the common interests of the Noosa Hinterland and the hinterland towns as well as Noosa and the Eastern Beaches.

His was one of the few voices that raised concerns about the inclusion of Noosa in the Wide Bay electorate before the 2007 election.  Many Noosa people are not aware that the administrative centre for the electorate remains in Maryborough. That’s further away than the Brisbane CBD.  The area covered by the old Noosa Shire demographically, economically and regionally has more in common with the Sunshine Coast than the rural communities and towns of Wide Bay.

Despite half the voters in Wide Bay being located in Noosa, the Labor and Nationals campaigns are being run out of Maryborough. Noosa perspectives are neglected.  The Greens candidate understands the Noosa community while having responded for some months to community issues throughout the electorate as he campaigned throughout Wide Bay.  The Greens campaign is being run out of Noosa.

On 21 August Vote 1 Jim McDonald, Greens Candidate for Wide Bay and Noosa

Greens Queensland campaign launch – a photo report

Posted by Jim on July 26, 2010

I attended the Queensland launch of the Greens campaign in a crowded function room at The Summit Restaurant at Mt Coot-tha on Sunday with Campaign Manager Bob Borsellino.  The Green’s candidate for Ryan, Sandra Bayley, also welcomed supporters and members.  She was followed by the Green’s Senate lead candidate Larissa Waters.

Crowd building up at Greens Queensland campaign launch

The launch was welcomed to country by elder, Maroochy, who performed a stunning welcome song.

Maroochy explaining the significance of her welcome song

Bob Brown electrified the room by addressing the issues of the campaign and outlining the contribution to government made by the Greens in the life of the last Parliament.  In a nice reference to the leaders debate, which locked out the Leader of the Greens, he said that in the case of the Labor and Liberal leaders, “three’s a crowd”.  He illustrated the failure of Labor’s environmental policy by referring to Julia Gillard’s summit on the environment as a phonebook strategy towards climate change.

Senator Bob Brown addressing the Launch crowd

He was upbeat about the chances of having Larissa Waters elected as the first Greens Senator from Queensland.  Later I met Bob Brown briefly after his media conference and we talked about coalmines.

Meeting Bob Brown after the launch of the Greens campaign in Queensland

All the candidates present were introduced to the audience and afterwards we posed for a group photo with Larissa Waters and Bob Brown.

Queensland House of Representative candidates pose with Bob Brown and Larissa Waters