GUNDAROO resident Iain Fyfe has been preselected by the Goulburn, Southern Highlands and Burrinjuck Greens groups to be the Greens’ candidate at the next State election.
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Mr Fyfe has lived on a property near the village for 14 years with his wife and two young children.
He also has three older sons.
His ‘day job’ is IT management in a large Commonwealth agency in Canberra.
He said he was passionate about the Australian landscape and the need to keep rural communities strong and prosperous.
The founding member of the Burrinjuck Greens based in Yass, he considered the wellbeing of the community and the environment as inseparable.
Mr Fyfe fought the last two State elections in the Burrinjuck electorate, increasing the Greens primary vote by several percentage points on each occasion.
He said he was keen to contest the seat of Goulburn – held by Liberal Pru Goward - with the weight of that experience behind him.
“The O’Farrell/Baird government has been a disappointment, even after the shambles of Labor before them, and not enough has changed for the better,” Mr Fyfe said.
“We’ve witnessed how this and other Coalition governments have let down regional communities and hopes for a decent, prosperous and fair future. “A key election issue is the trend of rising youth unemployment.
“We need renewed and solid support for TAFE as a public education system to underpin employment opportunities for young people entering the workforce.
“We can create real employment opportunities by promoting appropriate business and infrastructure in the locality and keeping the agricultural sector strong and vital.
“Farmers deserve better recognition and return for their produce and more opportunity to financially benefit from carbon farming, land restoration, biodiversity and habitat protection.
“I’d work to ensure community and local government participation in the State planning process maximises their ability to influence planning outcomes.
“I’d like to see greater protection and promotion of heritage while embracing good development to invigorate and enhance the quality of country life.
“The current government continues to show wilful ignorance about the need for a healthy and clean environment with its aggressive pursuit of coal and coal seam gas mining expansion, poor support of renewable energy, and undermining reasonable protection of coastline through Marine Parks. That’s not good enough.
“It’s crucial we have an effective and principled response to climate change, transitioning to a low carbon economy, with localised renewable energy industries to promote energy security, income and jobs.
“We need to be moving towards a public transport network for the future with an endgoal of rapid freight and passenger travel that is safe, frequent and affordable.”
