Elections > Federal Election 2007 > Candidates

Craige McWhirter

The Australian Greens candidate for Mackellar

Candidate for Mackellar

Why I am standing

I am a father of two who was born and raised on the Northern Beaches. I've been an active member of Mona Vale SLSC from nippers through to the present and played Australian Rules football for the Pittwater Tigers and Manly Warringah Wolves.

After finishing at Pittwater High, I embarked on a career in Information Technology with investment banks both here in Sydney and in the US for 18 years and now runs his own Newport based company.

I am now expanding that business into sustainable crop production.

An active environmentalist, I apply skills learnt in Surf Life Saving to drive inflatable boats for Greenpeace, have run forums aimed to inform and empower people to take action against climate change and have led members of the local community out to the Anvil Hill coal mine site in an effort to halt the folly of opening new coal mines.

I'm a passionate, active and energetic member of our community and my ambition is to "Re-energise Mackellar!"

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Important issues in my electorate

Locally, I've not only been the first person to donate solar panels to the Pittwater High School “solar power station” project but remain the only candidate for Mackellar to do so, having donated two myself with a third provided by the Northern Beaches Greens.

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Important policy documents

The Greens are working towards transitioning Australia to jobs-rich renewable energy and a sustainable, prosperous economy. By setting targets such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2020 (80% by 2050) the Greens are leading Australia towards this goal.

By investing in renewable energy, we can cap coal mine expansion to present levels and avoid the band-aid energy sources of “clean coal” and nuclear power. In the interim, new base load power can be provided via gas-fired power stations until geo-thermal and solar-thermal power stations are online. Wind and solar power will provide auxiliary power.

We believe that instead of $34 billion in tax cuts, we should be funding this transition and underwriting the nation's attempt to address climate change. Sir Nicholas Stern has recommended that nations will need to spend 1% of GDP, which is roughly equal to the annual cost of the Howard government's tax cuts.

We also believe that these tax cuts are better spent providing an increase to the pension of $60 per fortnight (est. $3 billion pa), to better funding our schools, public hospitals, securing water supplies, infrastructure and affordable housing

The Greens believe that work choices needs to be abolished and our employer / employee relations revised with mature, practical solutions, instead of the current system which is driven by ideology and one-up-manship.

The only way to stop Howard and Costello from spending our surplus on election sweeteners for marginal seats and have it spent on a clean, vibrant and prosperous future is to Vote 1, The Greens, to re-energise Mackellar.

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Contact Details

Other Candidates

ADAMS, John - CCC
BARNES, Clinton - DEM
* BISHOP, Bronwyn - LP
HUBBARD, Michael - CDP
MCLELLAN, Matt - IND
SHARPE, Chris - ALP

* incumbent

Previous Elections

Craige has also been a candidate in the following elections:

New South Wales Election 2007