The Hawkesbury has a representative to vote for in the Senate at Saturday’s elections.
Peter Gooley of Glossodia said he was interested in standing for the Senate as it’s the “house of review”, meant to examine the wisdom of legislation proposed by the House of Representatives. “Senators are meant to be people who know how to research,” he said.
Which is why he’s angry about Malcolm Turnbull’s campaign saying that to vote for an Independent or Greens party candidate in the Senate will result in a blocked Parliament.
When the Gazette said “what, like a blocked toilet?” he said “Yes! Because we’d wouldn’t be letting all the bulls*** through!” he chuckled.
He explained it was wrong to present the Senate as Mr Turnbull was. “[Blocking things] is actually senators exercising voters’ rights to put the brakes on if they don’t think it’s good legislation. If you have senators from the same party as the one putting up the legislation, then the Senate is only a rubber stamp.
“I don’t care if legislation is Liberal, Labor, Greens, Shooters – if it’s a good idea and I can see the real benefits into the future, then I’ll back it. If it’s a load of rubbish I won’t. My bottom line is, is it good for our grandchildren’s grandchildren?”
With three grandchildren of his own, he is focused on looking after their interests way into the future.
“I want to make sure they can see the Barrier Reef in all its glory. I want to see the lack of support for care warriors (carers) addressed, especially carers of those with dementia.”
He knows his subject as he works as an Alzheimers and Dementia coach, teaching people how to best look after family members with the condition.
He also wants to see the “divisive language” and nastiness in parliament now, addressed, “such as the way Julia Gillard was spoken about, not only in parliament but in the media. This attitude filters down and feeds into the community, so people think they can do it too. Where’s the community in that?”
He’s an active part of his own community, being on Hawkesbury Hospital’s Community Board of Advice, and a real workhorse for the Hawkesbury Heartstart campaign to get defibrillators into the community.
Why did he decide to stand for the Senate?
“I was a carer of my mother from 2011 until she passed away in 2015,” he said. “She saw my passion for advocacy. She said ‘you really should be in politics’. I said I couldn’t be in a political party as I wouldn’t kowtow. In her last week of life when she knew she was dying, she said it again. When the double dissolution came up, I thought – I’ll give it a shot.”
It cost Mr Gooley $2000 to put his hand up to run in the Senate, and he will have to get about eight per cent of the NSW vote to get one of the 12 NSW Senate seats – a big call for a bloke from Glossodia.
“That’s why I’ve been campaigning online,” he said. “I had to learn how to build a website.” He’s also using Twitter and Facebook.
On his website he speaks directly to young people.
“YOUNG VOTERS TAKE NOTE…
“Do you know who you are voting for in the Senate?
“Do you realise that the Senate is supposed to be the Fact Checker of parliament?
“Do you want a situation like the UK referendum where you don’t bother and then you get what you Don’t want?
“Do you realise your vote Does count?”
He says the major parties think wrongly about the Senate. “They almost think it’s a birthright of being part of the party, and it IS. And the payoff for the party is the rubber stamp they faithfully carry, ready to do their bidding without question or review. In my books, that’s unacceptable, in my books, that’s about control, not review.
“I state again and again – the Senate is a house of review, not a rubber stamp factory. Because you are going to have to write six numbers [when voting] then you might as well write 12.
“And I’d suggest you start on the right-hand end of the Senate paper rather than the normal left. That’s where you’ll find the Independents. You’ll find me in the very last column down towards the bottom. Start there with your 1 and then put the rest of your numbers to your party, if you want, or to the individuals you know and trust from their past performances.”
His website is www.petergooleysenate.com.au, email: peter@petergooleysenate.com.au, Twitter: @gooleypeter.
