Paul Barker to talk politics over the hot plate

LIBERAL Democrats candidate for Corangamite Paul Barker will host a series of community barbecues across the electorate as the 2022 federal poll draws nearer.

Mr Barker, who is also a councillor with the Surf Coast Shire, will run the “Meet Your Neighbour and Paul Barker” barbecues once a month in each of Bannockburn, Armstrong Creek, Leopold, Barwon Heads, Portarlington, Point Lonsdale, Moriac and Torquay during January, February and March.

“I figure while we’ve got a whole bunch of changing indoor restrictions, and given the fact the Liberal Democrats are a relatively unknown party in the region, I’ll put myself at the whim of the people and put on a bit of a dinner and have a bit of a chat,” Mr Barker said.

“I’m having consultation with the community that’s accessible to everyone, in an informal environment where people don’t feel ostracised or whatever if it was in a big auditorium.”

He said he held a similar barbecue with about a week’s notice in Torquay in December, which had 10 RSVPs but 35 actual attendees aged between 7 and 70 who found “the policies that we’re offering are quite appealing”.

“A lot of people have been severely impacted by vaccine mandates through losing employment.

“The other issue is national debt, which a lot of people haven’t considered previously. Our individual share of the gross national debt in 2005 was about $3,000 each and that’s skyrocketing – it shot past $20,000 last year and it’s on its way to $30,000 or $40,000 as a result of all this extra spending.

“That’s just not sustainable, and there’s a lot of people that are concerned about the intergenerational impact it’s going to have, handing this debt over to their children.”

Although the 2022 federal election must be held no later than May 21, a date has not been set, and Mr Barker predicted it would be on March 12.

He said he would request leave from the Surf Coast Shire council at the next scheduled council meeting after the election had been announced.

Mr Barker said his path to victory in Corangamite would be leapfrogging the major parties through preferences, much in the same way Labor’s Libby Coker moved ahead of then-incumbent Liberal MP Sarah Henderson in 2019.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s not impossible.”

For full details of the barbecues, head to Mr Barker’s Facebook page.