From Senator Gerard Rennick
It’s been a very busy few weeks since my last update working on a number of tasks as outlined below.
Party registration with the AEC is still ongoing. We hope to have the name approved and the People First Party registered very soon. We will let you know as soon as we do.
I will be travelling in regional Queensland from the 14th October to the 25th October where I will be holding meet and greet events to discuss People First polices and the way forward for our country. I will be visiting Mossman, Mareeba, Cairns, Townsville, Ayr, Bowen, Mackay, Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg and Hervey Bay. The exact dates and locations will be released this week.
I intend to hold meet and greet events in South East Queensland in early December, so for residents in the South East, please stay tuned.
It was a busy two weeks in Parliament. I moved several motions including:
- I moved a motion for the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee to look at holding a Federation Convention to streamline the roles and responsibilities of State and Federal Governments. It is my view that we have way too much bureaucracy in this country. We need to eliminate redundant bureaucrats and regulation to fund income tax cuts and improve efficiency. We do not need two environment departments, education departments and so on.
- I moved a motion for the Senate Economic Committee to look at ways to improve Australia’s taxation system in order to overcome its many structural deficiencies that aren’t in Australia’s best interests.
- I moved a motion for the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee to look at overhauling the way in which our federal highways are funded, built and maintained. The current model of the Federal Government funding 80% of the cost, only to have that money wasted by the State Governments, is dysfunctional. I think it’s time to look at expanding the role of our military engineers to build and maintain our federal highways. Not only would this streamline the process, but it could also provide an avenue to train more apprentices. Personally, I would prefer if immigrants joined the military engineers and got an apprenticeship rather than going to university.
- I moved a motion for the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee to look at implementing an Independent Judicial Commission. Whilst I believe in the separation of powers, it does not justify judges having no accountability. Many constituents have contacted me about issues with the legal system. It is time it had greater scrutiny applied to it.
I managed to get the tax inquiry up but no others. This is disappointing as Australia needs to get serious about fixing many structural and inequitable deficiencies.