UNITED Australia Party candidate Elijah Suares will contest the seat of Bendigo in the next Federal election.<\/p>\n
Mr Suares said decisions made by \u201ccareer politicians\u201d that affected the lives of Australians throughout the pandemic, and what he described as public mistrust in national leaders, prompted him to run.<\/p>\n
If elected, he said one of his main priorities would be diversifying the region\u2019s housing, including affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just going more suburban. Dense areas, they\u2019re not very attractive to other people such as investors or young people who want to buy an apartment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also the social housing at the moment for low-income workers, the liveability of these areas has become quite unacceptable because they haven\u2019t been upgraded in over 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funding needs to come from Federal [Government], not State Governments taxing people more and more, because they\u2019re already suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Mr Suares said he didn\u2019t have \u201cthe scientific answer\u201d on whether vaccines had been a benefit to the public during the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralians have done their job. They\u2019ve gone out and we\u2019ve all got vaccinated, we\u2019ve followed the Government rules and restrictions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere doesn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
An election date remains to be set by the Federal Government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED Australia Party candidate Elijah Suares will contest the seat of Bendigo in the next Federal election. Mr Suares said decisions made by \u201ccareer politicians\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n