He may be standing for the Nationals but Peter Gordon is the best
person among the candidates for the Vasse by-election on October 18.
During
my 8 years as the member for Vasse, I was always on the lookout for
those rare people with the necessary qualities to be a good member of
Parliament. In particular, I searched for people who provided sound
leadership, who had been successful at their chosen career (business,
professional, parenting, teaching, etc), who had a moral compass to help
steer them when the difficult issues came along and who were mentally
and emotionally capable of committing to the long hours, extensive
travel, the time away from home as well as the personal abuse which is
always directed towards politicians, regardless of their party or their
individual qualities.
In my time as an elected MP, I
found just 4 people who I considered had the necessary qualities to be
good members of Parliament. The small number is not a reflection on the
many other people I interacted with who I believed weren't well suited
to a parliamentary life. Instead, it was simply a measure of the
significant difficulties associated with being an MP.
Of
those 4 people, two were dairy farmers (one male, one female) and one
was a geologist (female). None showed any interest in becoming a
politician at the time I spoke to them because of their existing
business or family demands.
Peter Gordon was the fourth
person on my list and, while I suggested his name to various people
when the Vasse by-election was announced, I have to admit I never asked
Peter direct if he might have been interested in standing. Nonetheless, I
was greatly pleased to see him running as a candidate for the Vasse
by-election (even if he should have been chosen by the Liberals rather
than the Nationals!). Why? Because the interactions I've had with him
over the last 10 to 12 years have shown him to be a highly capable
leader, a successful business person, committed family man and father
and, probably most important of all his qualities, honest. He's also not
a bad sort of bloke.
Without reflecting on the other
candidates standing for the by-election, all of whom have some good
qualities, my assessment is that Peter stands head and shoulders above
them all. If elected, I believe he will be an incredibly hard working
member of Parliament for Vasse, committed to achieving benefits for all
Vasse voters, regardless of their voting preferences. While economic
development issues are understandably the primary policy issue at this
by-election, Peter is close to the full range of issues that are
important to Vasse electors: education, health, water, environment,
public housing, agriculture, tourism, police, justice, family services
and community development.
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