Elections > Federal Election 2007 > Candidates

Debbie Blumel

Australian Labor Party candidate for Fairfax

Fairfax Labor Candidate

Why I am standing

Why am I standing

The Sunshine Coast does not have a single Labor representative at any level of government between Caloundra and Gympie. The Liberal and National Party political representatives have taken the Sunshine Coast for granted and have become complacent.

Kevin Rudd has fresh ideas for Australia and I have fresh ideas for the Sunshine Coast - ideas about strengthening our local community, supporting our local economy and small business, protecting our local environment, and supporting a fair and balanced industrial relations system for both business and workers.

Most importantly, the Sunshine Coast will benefit from a strong advocate when it comes to getting health services, aged care and transition beds, investments in schools, and investments in community infrastructure and roads.

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Important issues in my electorate

Important issues in Fairfax electorate

1 Health services

The most important issue in Fairfax is health and hospital services.

As a health professional with 25 years experience, I know that the health system is in urgent need of reform. The health system has been one of the greatest casualties of the Howard Government's blame game strategy. A fresh, cooperative approach is needed between the federal and state governments. Only Labor has a vision for a cooperative approach that targets system reform.

If elected, I will work with the regional health stakeholders on the Sunshine Coast to better integrate and coordinate the various aspects of the complex health system and to reduce inefficiencies.

What Labor plans to do

• Help end the blame game on health by establishing a $2 billion National Health Reform Plan in cooperation with the States and Territories to deliver improved health outcomes for patients in Australia's health care and hospital system and to take financial control of Australia's 750 public hospitals if State and Territory governments have not begun implementing the Plan by mid-2009.

• Invest $600 million to dramatically slash waiting lists for elective surgery in Australia's public hospitals and invest $158 million over five years to create up to 2,000 transition care beds to free up hospital beds and help other older Australians get home.

• Bring in a Healthy Kids Check to test the health, development and wellbeing of all our children in the first year of school and trial the Kitchen Garden Program in 190 primary schools across Australia to encourage our children to make healthier eating choices.

• Labor will invest up to $290 million to fund up to one million additional dental consultations, establishing a Commonwealth Dental Health Program.

• Make preventive health a priority to keep Australians healthy and out of hospitals.

2 Housing affordability

For many Sunshine Coast families the dream of owning their own home is rapidly becoming just that, a dream. Housing is less affordable for working families, especially the young. It is something that cannot be ignored any longer. If as Mr Howard says, "working families in Australia have never been better off", why are so many of us paying record high mortgage payments?

The recent extended boom in the property market has pushed prices to unprecedented highs where home buyers are looking at taking on huge debt to afford a home.

After 9 interest rate rises in a row, five since Mr Howard said he would keep interest rates at "record lows", Australian families are hurting and a lack of investment in new affordable homes means many are squeezed out of the housing market.

The lack of affordable homes means more people are choosing to rent. This means demand is greater than supply and prices for rental properties, especially for families have soared.

What Labor plans to do

• A Housing Affordability Fund - A Rudd Labor Government will establish a new Housing Affordability Fund to invest $500 million over five years. The Fund will save up to 50,000 new homebuyers up to $20,000 on a home purchase -- and boost supply.

• National Rental Affordability Scheme - A Rudd Labor Government will establish a National Rental Affordability Scheme that will help create 50,000 new affordable rental properties across Australia.

• Commonwealth land release - A Rudd Labor Government will release surplus Commonwealth land. A National Housing Supply Research Council will assess whether it can be used for additional housing development, better community facilities such as transport links and parklands or commercial development to create jobs.

3 Fairness at work

Every Australian has the right to be treated fairly at work. Mr Howard's extreme WorkChoices laws have taken this away. Mr Howard didn't tell Australians about his intention to introduce these laws before the last election. And Government Ministers have expressed the intention to drive these laws even further if the Howard Government is re-elected.

What Labor Plans to do

Labor will:

• scrap Mr Howard's unfair industrial relations laws and replace it with a new and balanced system

• protect basic rights to penalty rates and overtime payments, as well as holiday and redundancy pay

• guarantee a fair minimum wage and implement a real safety net, with ten legislated minimum conditions

• give both parents the right to separate periods of up to 12 months of unpaid leave and have the right to request flexible work arrangements until their child reaches school age

• reform Australia's unfair dismissal laws and establish a new, simpler system – one that balances the right of workers to be protected with the need of employers to manage their staff.

4 Cost of Living

Australian family budgets will be forced to stretch a little further due to the cost of basics like food spiralling by 21.4 per cent and petrol increasing 41.8 per cent over the last five years.

Basics have shot up – fruit and vegetables (48.1 per cent); eggs (22.5 per cent); bread (20.5 per cent); and petrol (41.8 per cent) over the last five years.

Also, underlying inflation is rising to around 3 per cent for the year in this week’s September Quarter CPI – at the very top of the Reserve Bank’s 2-3 per cent target.

Working families around the Sunshine Coast are wondering how they will fit everything into the weekly budget. Grocery and petrol prices and mortgage repayment have added more financial pressure on working families.

What Labor will do

• Deliver tax cuts for all Australians from 1 July 2008 with a six-year goal to reduce the current four tax rates to three (15, 30 and 40 cents in the dollar)

• Introduce a new 50 per cent Education Tax Rebate to help families with the cost of educating their children and increase the Child Care Tax Rebate to 50 per cent

• Keep a permanent watch on petrol prices by appointing a new Petrol Commissioner and give the ACCC the power to monitor grocery prices and to publish regular surveys of prices to inform consumers

• Provide tax incentives so that middle and low income families can rent homes at 20 per cent below market rates, invest in housing infrastructure to reduce the cost of a new home, and improve the Federal Government's land release policy so there are more homes.

5 Growth funding for community and economic infrastructure

The Sunshine Coast is one of the nation’s fastest growing regions. Its population is forecast to double by 2026 to 490,000 with an estimated 9,500 people moving to the region per year on average.

With this rapid growth comes pressure for community and economic infrastructure.

What Labor will do

Not since Federal Labor’s Better Cities program, has there been a strategic vision to inject funding into infrastructure to renew and sustain growth corridors.

Labor is committed to working with urban and regional communities to develop local solutions to address the challenges of growth. Our investments will be critical to creating a vibrant, diverse and attractive Sunshine Coast region and is an example of my commitment to regional and urban development.

In Fairfax, a Rudd Labor Government will invest in partnership with State and Local Governments to achieve:

• The establishment of the Sunshine Coast Entertainment and Conference Centre

Rudd Labor will commit $1 million to kick start the establishment of a world class Entertainment and Conference Centre. This is a down payment on a total commitment of $5 million to be paid when council is ready to begin construction (estimated to be 2011-2012).

This Centre will be the pre-eminent, all-weather performance and conference venue for the region with capacity of up to 2500. It will boost the local economy and create new jobs.

The Sunshine Coast is currently missing out on upwards of $30 million per annum in lost economic activity as a direct result of not having this major venue. The Sunshine Coast’s very own entertainment centre is long overdue.

As Chairperson of the Sunshine Coast Entertainment and Convention Centre Committee, I am certain that this federal funding will further generate the political will at the local and state government levels to deliver this project to the Sunshine Coast.

• Nambour Town Revitalisation

Federal Labor will commit $1.3 million to the revitalisation of the Nambour CBD to create a vibrant, prosperous and attractive place for residents and visitors to live, work and play. This important project will assist Nambour to plan for its future, promote Nambour as an economic hub for the region and build community capacity.

• Create the Sunshine Coast as a leader in water recycling technology

Coolum Ridges will become a water recycling demonstration project for the rest of Australia with the commitment of $4.6 million from Rudd Labor to establish a water recycling scheme at Coolum Ridges, a new proposed 1200 lot estate.

With the injection of funds from Rudd Labor, Maroochy Shire Council, and FKP Developments, this project will provide a roof water harvesting scheme by treating roof water and returning it to the town supply system.

• Bushland Botanical Gardens, Tanawah

Rudd Labor will provide $3 million to develop an Art and Ecology Visitor Centre at Maroochy Regional Bushland Botanical Gardens, Tanawah. This will enable the design and planning of a centre to showcase the highest environmental, sustainability and biodiversity features, providing a key eco-tourism attraction for the region.

6 The environment

Climate change is a significant environmental challenge facing the global and local communities.

The risks for Australia from climate change are present and increasing. CSIRO research indicates that extreme weather events, including Category 5 cyclones, bushfires, drought, heat waves and severe floods, are expected to increase in severity or intensity due to climate change. Climate change is also linked to declining rainfall and worsening drought, and Labor understands that policies that tackle climate change are required to ensure that water is widely available in the future.

As the UK’s Stern Review made clear last October, the costs of delay will be far greater than the costs of reducing greenhouse gas emissions now.

What Labor will do

• Restore Australia’s international leadership on climate change
• Develop a carbon market and reform our institutions
• Lead by example through good purchasing practices
• Drive a clean energy revolution through a strong Mandatory Renewable Energy Target and investment in clean energy research and development
• Help Australian families to green their homes
• Invest in cleaner businesses and create new jobs - working in partnership with businesses to drive energy efficiency improvements
• Invest in sustainable agriculture and protect our biodiversity
• Invest in cleaner transport, including the establishment of a $500 million Green Car Partnership to drive the use of greener, more efficient cars
• Prepare Australia for the future impacts of climate change
• Secure our future water supplies, and ensure that 30 per cent of wastewater is recycled nationally by 2015.
• Cut Australia’s greenhouse pollution by 60% by 2050, based on what the science tells us is needed to avoid dangerous climate change.
• Increase the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target, providing genuine long-term support for Australia’s renewable energy industry
• Achieve greater use of all forms of public transport, thereby contributing to reductions in emissions and congestion.

I have also campaigned strongly on a range of local environmental issues including:
• Stopping urban sprawl on the Maroochy North Shore floodplains
• Relocating a massive industrial estate proposed for prime horticultural farmland at Bridges (near Yandina)
• Relocating the proposed Kulangoor Bioreactor mega dump proposed for farmland nestled between the Ferntree Creek National Park and Mapleton State Forest - currently a productive horticultural area with good quality agricultural soils and good rainfall

For further information please visit:
www.alp.org.au
www.kevin07.org.au
www.debbieblumel.com.au

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Contact Details

Other Candidates

HASHEMI, Janette - DEM
NORRIS, Dave - GRN
PHILLIPS, Max - IND
SAVAGE, Kevin - ONWA
* SOMLYAY, Alex - LP
WATT, Kevin - CEC
WOODS, Lisa - FFP

* incumbent

Previous Elections

Debbie has also been a candidate in the following elections:

Queensland Election 2006
Queensland Election 2004