Win or lose, Casey Iddon is an unusual candidate, as he announces his plans to run for federal office in the safe LNP seat of Wide Bay.
For him, his election debut, as an Independent, is not about winning or losing.
It is about something much more important than that.
It is all about sending a message to Canberra from what he says is the often-forgotten electorate of Wide Bay.
“Help!“ would be a reasonable summary of the message he wants to get through to whichever party wins Government at the election, expected to be announced soon.
“Since the 1970s it has been the safest seat in the country, safe for the LNP.
“Labor doesn’t believe it can win. The LNP doesn’t believe it can lose.
“So nothing happens,“ he said this week.
“Government’s don’t invest in safe seats, they invest in battlegrounds.
“It’s not fair, but that’s the way the politics of government is set up,“ he said.
He says government spending should be audited to ensure it is about needs rather than votes.
Although closely linked to the ALP, he says he was discouraged by the top-down campaign management that he experienced in his efforts to become the party’s endorsed candidate.
He says he was motivated to break the mould and run as an Independent by his own experience of inadequate health services in Maryborough and Hervey Bay, something he says is mirrored in Gympie.
“Health is really under-invested in this area,“ he told Gympie Today.
The experience which got him moving in a different direction was a health crisis his wife experienced, when she needed an urgent operation.
“They couldn’t do it in Maryborough, so she was shifted to Hervey Bay, which is also struggling to keep up with demand.
“It’s the same in Gympie, where Gympie Hospital is basically a satellite hospital for the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
“When older people are sent to SCUH they are away from their support groups, family and friends.
“That can delay their recovery and they spend longer in hospital.
“We’re the fastest growing (in population) electorate in regional Queensland and we are the oldest, with an average age of 49.
“A lot of people say a vote for me will go to Labor because of my Labor connection.
“But that’s not true. I’m not printing a how-to-vote card. People can give their preferences to anyone they like.
“And that is where their vote will probably end up.
“But every vote for me is a message to Canberra,“ he said.
Mr Iddon says he is also inspired by state Independent for Noosa, Sandra Bolton.
“Politicians get an allowance which they tend to use for newsletters and raising their profile, but Sandy donates a lot of hers to community groups in her electorate.“
“The people of Wide Bay tend to vote overwhelmingly conservative, and they shouldn’t be punished for that.
He paraphrases one of the characters in the Rocky and Creed movies: “It’s not about winning. I just want to get to the final round.“
The area needs better healthcare, better infrastructure and better services, he says.
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