Meet the 2022 federal election candidates competing for David Gillespie’s Lyne seat

Get to know the Labor, Nationals, United Australia, One Nation, Greens, Liberal Democrat and two independent candidates competing for the seat of Lyne this federal election.

There are eight candidates competing for the seat of Lyne this federal election.

From the northern parts of Ballengarra, down to Paterson and Karuah in the south, and out west inland, the electorate covers a wide area.

The main towns included in Lyne are Bonny Hills, Bulahdelah, Dungog, Forster, Gloucester, Gresford, Harrington, Hawks Nest, Lake Cathie, Lansdowne, Laurieton, Nabiac, North Haven, Old Bar, Paterson, Smiths Lake, Stroud, Taree and Wauchope.

Meet the local people campaigning for your vote this year.

Alexander Simpson | Labor Party

Living in Bolwarra Heights, Alexander Simpson is the Labor candidate for Lyne in this year’s federal election.

He’s a maths tutor and former battery scientist.

Alex believes health and aged care emerged as the biggest issue in his electorate, early in the campaign.

“I am committed to getting better care services in Lyne, as my absolute priority,” he said.

“Labor will reverse the cuts to mental telehealth in our regions.

“It’s critical that regional Australians have better access to specialists, including psychologists and psychiatrists.

“We’re also delivering urgent care centres, to take the strain off our emergency rooms.”

Alex said his party will also deliver a stronger aged care sector.

“We are ensuring aged care centres hire and retain staff by enforcing an average of 215 minutes of daily care,” he said.

“We’re also committing to better food, 24/7 nursing, a pay rise for aged care workers, and more transparency in how centres spend their money.

“If we fail to deliver basic care at an aged care centre, it requires significantly more care in an emergency room or hospital bed – that’s why aged care is so important.”

Alex believes “taking care of people is a fundamental Labor value”, saying he’s “proud to represent that value here in Lyne”.

David Gillespie | The Nationals

David Gillespie is the incumbent member, hoping this election will reinstate his position for another term.

He lives on a farm near Wauchope in the Hastings Valley, where he and his wife raised their three children, who are now in their 20s.

Before politics, David was a doctor for 33 years, including 21 years as a specialist gastroenterologist and consultant specialist physician in Port Macquarie.

He believes the biggest issue facing our community is the need to meet the challenges of a growing population, ensuring the area continues to maintain the economic recovery of local industries.

“We need to continue to implement our plan to grow the economy so we can continue to invest in the critical infrastructure and services our region needs,” he said.

“The pandemic has been very tough for our country.

“However, on almost every measure – economic growth, jobs growth, debt levels, fatality rates or vaccine rates – Australia’s recovery is leading the world.

“Unemployment is at 4 per cent, the equal lowest in 48 years.

“Our economic plan is working and this means I can continue delivering federal funding support for priority projects in our local community.”

David believes the country still faces many challenges and “there is still more to be done”.

“Growing the economy will give us the capacity to invest more in our region,” he said.

“To continue securing a strong economic future, our plan will deliver more jobs and tax relief for workers and small businesses.

“The plan will also invest in roads, rail, water infrastructure and renewable energy technology, make record investments in health and other essential services, and invest in stronger defence, security and borders.”

Joanne Pearce | Independent

Joanne Pearce lives in Pindimar, near Tea Gardens.

She currently works in aged care, and is studying a postgraduate in ‘Disaster and Emergency Management’.

Joanne’s studies are supported through her experience as a volunteer with the SES.

She believes, while “there are many big issues facing the electorate”, they’re all built upon the “biggest issue being faced by everyone in Australia”, which is the right to fair representation.

Joanne said our current laws allow access to politicians to be bought, and large political donations to be made in order to receive benefits at the taxpayer’s expense.

“A federal ICAC is important, but you cannot prosecute behaviour that is totally legal,” she said.

“Other countries have successfully addressed this and we can too.

“No government is going to prioritise anyone – including small business, farmers, health workers etc. – when they are focused on securing large party donations.

“If an industry is good for Australia, good for jobs, good for infrastructure, good for the economy, the government should support that industry; they shouldn’t need to be bribed to do so.”

Joanne said, if elected, she will work with the cross bench to limit donations to $2000 per constituent, and require all donations and fundraising profits over $20 be declared.

She hopes to introduce truth in political advertising laws – “if others can be held to account, so can politicians” – stop parliamentary access for professional lobbyists, introduce senate oversight of government contracts, and create a functional independent corruption watchdog.

“This will even out the playing field for Australians and their representatives,” Joanne said.

Joel Putland | United Australia Party

Joel Putland lives in Forster with his wife and four young kids.

He’s a small-business owner, and is running in this election as a United Australia Party candidate.

When it comes to the biggest challenges facing Lyne, Joel believes “there is a long list”.

“But the most important issue, according to the hundreds of locals throughout the electorate I have had the pleasure of meeting, is the rapidly rising cost of living,” he said.

“Aged and health care, jobs, freedom, roads and protecting our small business owners, farmers, fishermen and timber industries from woke net-zero targets are also important issues.

“Firstly, the Liberals’ and Labor’s trillion dollars of debt ensures that home loan interest rates will rise to above 6 per cent per annum and, in doing so, 80 per cent of Australians will default on their mortgages and lose their homes.

“We will amend the RBA act limiting all home loan interest rates to be below 3 per cent for the next five years, to save Australians’ homes and their way of life.

“Secondly, businesses and employees in our region will receive a 20 per cent tax concession via our zonal taxation policy, thus easing the cost of living, and more money being spent in our region to strengthen small businesses.

“Additionally this will bring, and we will promote, skilled workers and families to our region from Sydney – nurses, doctors, builders, contractors, businesses and manufacturing that will provide a robust economy and more jobs, as well as more workers to help maintain our roads and work in our hospitals and aged care facilities, which are all in crisis right now.

“Thirdly, our robust policies allow for a host of other funding and initiatives to reduce the cost of living, and solve many of our region‘s urgent issues.”

Josephine Cashman | Pauline Hanson‘s One Nation

Josephine Cashman, representing One Nation this election, is a resident of Taree.

She’s a retired lawyer, and is “concentrating on fixing the equality of opportunity” issues this election.

“I consider all of my people Australians, and I consider all Australians my people,” Josephine said.

“Some people get a calling, at the moment I am called to fix inequality of opportunity.

“Unfortunately the Labor Party has denied the opportunity of land title and personal property rights to the original Australians.”

Josephine believes the biggest issue facing Lyne is the ethical and legal responsibility of elected members of local government in protecting ratepayers against big government and big international business.

“A big issue for Taree is we’ve somehow got a mayor who is handing out how-to-vote cards for Albo’s Labor Party – a party who is determined to destroy the small business person,” she told the Mid North Coast News.

“A self-employed person acts with decency, they’re responsible for the moral and ethical conduct of their business – that is a small business person.

“Big international business does not have a conscience or a morality, as we’ve seen in the Coles and Woolworths milk wars which resulted in many of our dairy farmers, corner shops and milk bars losing their livelihoods and homes.”

If she wins the seat, Josephine is going to “encourage small business owners who have lost their business because of Labor” and “restore the MidCoast Council to a non-socialist organisation to protect small business and land title and create the wealth that is going to help restore of Australia.”

Karl Attenborough | The Australian Greens

Karl Attenborough of Harrington is representing The Australian Greens this federal election.

The ex-police officer now fills his retirement as a sponsored angler and fishing guide.

Karl believes the biggest issue facing the region is action on climate change, and he said this is reflected in the wants and needs of Port Macquarie residents.

If they win, the Greens will phase out the mining, burning and export of thermal coal by 2030.

Karl’s party will also support households and small businesses to “get off gas and move to electric alternatives”.

“Our fully-costed climate action plan will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, bring electricity costs down and drive our economy into the future,” Karl said.

“The Greens’ new $24 billion environmental plan is aimed at halting the mass extinction of wildlife through investments in greening and restoration, stronger environmental laws, ending native logging and ensuring mines are assessed on their climate impacts before approval.”

Karl said other big issues facing the Lyne electorate include aged care and the cost of living.

Mark Hornshaw | Liberal Democratic Party

Mark Hornshaw and his family recently moved to Lorne.

He owns a small farm, and is also a university lecturer in economics and entrepreneurship.

Mark believes an overbearing government is the biggest issue facing the residents of Lyne.

“They have locked us down, mandated us, thrown people out of work and closed businesses over the last two years,” he said.

“And, on top of that, they have run up almost a trillion dollars of debt with little to show for it.

“Too much of people’s hard-earned incomes are carried off to Canberra, forcing them to beg for a small slice of it back, or trust in a political process which can never deliver.

“We need to drastically reduce the size of government and reduce their power to meddle in our lives.”

Mark said his party, the Liberal Democrats stand, for “less government, more freedom”.

“Our Freedom Manifesto sets out 10 key policies to get the government off your back so we can build community at the local level,” he said.

“This includes low, flat taxes – a $40,000 tax-free threshold, 20 per cent flat tax above that, and 20 per cent company tax – decentralised education that funds students not institutions, recalled elections that allow citizens to veto bad laws, small business-friendly policies to reduce red tape, cheap and reliable energy, freedom from surveillance, eliminating the budget deficit and paying off the debt.

“And most importantly freedom from Covid alarmism, and accountability for those who did this to us.”

Steve Attkins | Independent

Steve Attkins resides in the town of Wootton, around the middle of the Lyne electorate.

He’s a farmer and business owner, working in Forster but also around the region, with connections to local tourism.

Steve said the biggest issues facing Lyne are the lack of health services and infrastructure, closely followed by housing and the environment.

“I believe we can certainly do better than we have in the past, and obviously some funding above what we have traditionally received would be a great start,” he said.

“Having been involved in the health space for many years, and in economic development, I know we require some base funding for these issues.

“A huge electorate, with a crumbling road system and an out-of-date hospital, requires large amounts of funding.”

Steve believes that, without addressing these health and infrastructure challenges, Lyne will not be supported adequately and allowed to realise its great potential.

“We need a strong voice in Canberra to secure that funding for our region now and into the future,” Steve said.