Candidate: We’ve overtaken Nats

United Australia Party candidate for Mallee Stuart King believes his party has overtaken the Nationals ‘in leaps and bounds’ as the number-one party for rural Australia.

Mr King said only the UAP had policies that would drive economic growth, infrastructure development and improve the wealth and lifestyles of rural Australian families and communities.

“The Nationals have sold their souls to the Liberal Party and no longer accurately represent the views or needs of rural Australia,” he said.

Mr King said the UAP policies for regional Australia were simple and would stimulate significant economic activity, leading to expanded and new businesses, better services and population growth.

“That provides hope and prosperity for the future of rural communities” he said.

“We are securing the long-term viability of sporting clubs and community groups, the societal fabric of rural Australia.”

Rural focus

Mr King said his party’s key polices for rural Australia included:

• A 20 percent income and company tax concession to people living more than 200 kilometres from a capital city to incentivise decentralisation and attract workers and industries to the regions;

• Supporting downstream minerals processing and manufacturing in states and territories other than the source of the resources, such as New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria;

• Removing the excise on fuel. This was a significant benefit to rural Australians — not just for farming and transport, but to reduce the cost of everyday travel;

• Abolishing provisional and fringebenefits tax to assist the cashflow and profitability of many rural businesses;

• Investing $40-billion in hospital infrastructure and healthcare;

• A $20-billion investment into education, plus the reinstatement of free higher education in TAFES and universities and wiping existing HECS debts;

• A revised labelling system for Australian Made-packaged products to have a minimum 95 percent Australian content; and

• Returning 25 percent of the wealth of a region to be reinvested into that region.

“Rural Australia will also benefit from more general UAP policies to pay off the $1-trillion debt, capping home-loan interest rates at three percent for five years, and making the first $30,000 paid on a home-loan tax deductible each year,” he said.

Mr King said the party executive was supportive and willing to tackle complex issues such as overhauling the Murray Darling Basin Plan, completing the Murray Basin Rail Project and improving the funding mechanisms for local government. “As a third-generation Mallee farmer, a small-business owner and a family man who is active in my community, I know that these policies will end the discrimination against rural Australia,” he said.

“Rural people, businesses and their communities can look forward to a vibrant and prosperous future with job creation and rising standards of living and wages.”

Mallee candidates

Candidates standing for Mallee at the May 20 election are: Sophie Baldwin and Claudia Haenel, Independents; Carol Hart, Labor; Chris Lahy, Citizens Party; Stuart King, UAP; and Dr Anne Webster, The Nationals.