UAP name local candidate

UNITED Australia Party candidate Elijah Suares will contest the seat of Bendigo in the next Federal election.

Mr Suares said decisions made by “career politicians” that affected the lives of Australians throughout the pandemic, and what he described as public mistrust in national leaders, prompted him to run.

If elected, he said one of his main priorities would be diversifying the region’s housing, including affordable housing.

“We’re just going more suburban. Dense areas, they’re not very attractive to other people such as investors or young people who want to buy an apartment,” he said.

“It’s also the social housing at the moment for low-income workers, the liveability of these areas has become quite unacceptable because they haven’t been upgraded in over 30 years.

“The funding needs to come from Federal [Government], not State Governments taxing people more and more, because they’re already suffering.”

Mr Suares also matched a Federal Labor election pledge made in January to build a battery in Maldon, where residents have taken up solar power.

“The locals have done a great job purchasing solar for their house, but then unfortunately State and Federal governments have left them behind without providing any battery or next step in that sustainable process,” he said.

The UAP is led by former Liberal MP Craig Kelly and mining magnate Clive Palmer, with a national campaign focused on ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

Mr Suares said he didn’t have “the scientific answer” on whether vaccines had been a benefit to the public during the pandemic.

“Australians have done their job. They’ve gone out and we’ve all got vaccinated, we’ve followed the Government rules and restrictions,” he said.

“There doesn’t appear to be any need for people to sign-in to places, wear a mask without their consent or to be shut out of society like a lot of people still are.”

An election date remains to be set by the Federal Government.