LIBERAL Democrats candidate for Corangamite Paul Barker will host a series of community barbecues across the electorate as the 2022 federal poll draws nearer.<\/p>\n
Mr Barker, who is also a councillor with the Surf Coast Shire, will run the \u201cMeet Your Neighbour and Paul Barker\u201d barbecues once a month in each of Bannockburn, Armstrong Creek, Leopold, Barwon Heads, Portarlington, Point Lonsdale, Moriac and Torquay during January, February and March.<\/p>\n
\u201cI figure while we\u2019ve got a whole bunch of changing indoor restrictions, and given the fact the Liberal Democrats are a relatively unknown party in the region, I\u2019ll put myself at the whim of the people and put on a bit of a dinner and have a bit of a chat,\u201d Mr Barker said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m having consultation with the community that\u2019s accessible to everyone, in an informal environment where people don\u2019t feel ostracised or whatever if it was in a big auditorium.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he held a similar barbecue with about a week\u2019s notice in Torquay in December, which had 10 RSVPs but 35 actual attendees aged between 7 and 70 who found \u201cthe policies that we\u2019re offering are quite appealing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people have been severely impacted by vaccine mandates through losing employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other issue is national debt, which a lot of people haven\u2019t considered previously. Our individual share of the gross national debt in 2005 was about $3,000 each and that\u2019s skyrocketing – it shot past $20,000 last year and it\u2019s on its way to $30,000 or $40,000 as a result of all this extra spending.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s just not sustainable, and there\u2019s a lot of people that are concerned about the intergenerational impact it\u2019s going to have, handing this debt over to their children.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He said he would request leave from the Surf Coast Shire council at the next scheduled council meeting after the election had been announced.<\/p>\n
Mr Barker said his path to victory in Corangamite would be leapfrogging the major parties through preferences, much in the same way Labor\u2019s Libby Coker moved ahead of then-incumbent Liberal MP Sarah Henderson in 2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge, but it\u2019s not impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
For full details of the barbecues, head to Mr Barker\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cMeet Your Neighbour and Paul Barker\u201d barbecues once a month in each of Bannockburn, Armstrong Creek, […]<\/p>\n