NSW election 2023: Lismore election candidates Q&A
They want to represent your area – but what drives the people standing for the seat of Lismore in the 2023 state election? Find out in our Q&A.
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There are eight candidates throwing their hats in the ring for the seat of Lismore in the NSW state election on March 25.
We put a series of questions to the candidates so you can know more about them and what they stand for.
They will appear on your voting paper in this order after the ballot draw in Lismore last week: (1) Matthew Bertolli – Fishers and Farmers, (2) Janelle Saffin – Labor, (3) James McKenzie – Independent, (4) Allen Crosthwaite – Independent, (5) Vanessa Rosayro – Animal Justice Party, (6) Ross Honniball – Sustainable Australia Party, (7) Adam Guise – Greens, (8) Alex Rubin – The Nationals.
Ms Saffin was elected in 2019 with a margin of two per cent.
Janelle Saffin – Labor
How long have you lived in the electorate?
I have had the honour of being elected to serve community through the NSW Legislative Council (1995 to 2003) the Australian parliament as the Federal Member for Page (2007 to 2013) and then in 2019 as the State Member for Lismore. Before this I have worked in many sectors, set us services, business and more.
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
We can do this and I am determined, working together, to make it happen.
What‘s your plan for the electorate?
To ensure that the people living in the Lismore Electorate and the wider Northern Rivers region are heard, justly treated and not forgotten by decision-makers in Sydney and Canberra.
Healthcare – Minimum and enforceable safe staffing levels in our public hospitals. I will secure our share of 1200 extra nurses and midwives and an extra 500 paramedics.
Education – Ensuring that more of our casual school teachers get permanency and are freed of administrative burdens. I am committed to the rebuilding of TAFE.
Roads – I’ve already secured a $41-million package of funding commitments from NSW Labor to urgently repair potholed roads and ageing bridges across our electorate, and will build on this during a second term.
Environment – if re-elected and I will keep working to ensure our region can address environmental, energy and climate challenges, restoring the health of our rivers, our soils and saving our koalas.
What's the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
The Northern Rivers has a growing waiting list for public and private housing, worsened by the 2022 floods. The government’s policy failure to address this need has now resulted in our region needing 18,600 homes.
Labor has committed to regional housing plans with measures to make housing safer and more secure, and I have put in a strong bid in for a $30-million regional build-to-rent package for our region. I am confident of securing this.
The Liberal and National parties have a Housing Strategy 2041 that does not yet have targets.
Where I grew up in Ipswich we could all get housing courtesy of our State Government. Families had security.
Our people must have the security of a roof over their head for themselves and their children.
The market alone cannot provide that security, but all are winners if the State Government steps up to its responsibilities.
Your final pitch to voters
Our community has been through the wringer since last year’s floods, and before that bushfires, drought and Covid.
I secured the $800m for buybacks, including relocating homes, house-raising and retrofitting, and land swaps.
I was assured that it was the first tranche with the second tranche to follow. I shall make sure that happens.
But there is more work to do.
- An Economic and Environmental Recovery Plan to ‘build back better’ across our region.
- More affordable homes, more security for renters and abolishing no-grounds evictions.
- Continued support for small business and securing more tradies.
- More support for our hospitals, schools and TAFE, and saving Murwillumbah’s public schools.
- Addressing climate change, restoring our rivers, and protecting our koalas from extinction.
It's my promise to you that I will walk alongside you, support you and fight for you and your families, every step of the way.
James McKenzie – Independent
How long have you lived in the electorate?
All my life, 56 years, My families were pioneers of the Tweed and Gold Coast over 150 years ago. We are the only whites to own the real Wollumbin, the peak 10.65 Km NNE of Mt Warning (Wulambiny Momoli).
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
Running as a candidate to expose misuse of funds allocated to indigenous initiatives.
Have run for Tweed Shire Council three times to expose these scandals.
Premier Baird‘s counsel sent my complaints to NSW ICAC in 2014,
What's your plan for the electorate?
My plan is irrelevant. There is no chance of me being elected to parliament. Running to expose the scandals … that all the money has been wasted in Aboriginal Affairs.
What's the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
Native Title over Crown Land and National Parks administration.
I am exposing these scandals, have been calling for a Royal Commission inquiry since 2010.
Your final pitch to voters
I have no personal desire to sit in the snakepit of parliament. My many years in Aboriginal politics has shown me that all political parties are without leadership, are clueless incompetents that do not even realise that many claimed Aboriginal nations are just what white linguists called the language. Our useless political parties … have committed government genocide.
Vanessa Rosayro – Animal Justice Party
How long have you lived in the electorate?
Lismore is my home. I moved here 5 years ago from Sydney with my partner and children, like so many other people, in search of peace and a quieter lifestyle. What surprised me, was finding what I was not looking for: community.
The Lismore electorate is a network of incredible and inspiring individuals, who inspire me to be the best version of myself.
I have been with my community through the flooding disasters and I work in flood recovery with vulnerable women and children.
I don’t just live in Lismore, Lismore is my home and my community.
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
I was tired of being angry and feeling powerless. It was easier to offer criticism from the safety of my couch, until it was no longer the easier path.
Momentous change has been the result of someone standing up and deciding to no longer feel powerless.
The money spent on industries that make profit through the suffering of animals can be used to support our community.
We can end native forest logging and preserve koalas for future generations, we have the science and we can ban coal and fossil fuel use, lean into sustainable clean energy solutions and breath again.
Our government continues to support fossil and coal industries that have resulted in a climate emergency and will result in further natural disasters.
I decided to put my hand up, because enough is enough and I am not afraid to hold our government accountable.
What's your plan for the electorate?
To listen. As a voter, I was told what is good for me, what I need, what I should fear and what others will do for me.
I believe in my community – my community has the answers and my community has a voice. This electorate has experienced significant devastation because of climate change.
It’s time for a new approach to politics. I will fight for a compassionate approach to people, animals and the planet. I believe in equality for all and will fight for a society which celebrates diversity regardless of their interests and capabilities.
We have the evidence that climate change is real and we have the ecological expertise to stop native species extinction.
With no ties to major political parties and no dues to corporations, I can act without compromise on what matters.
What’s the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
Animals, people and the planet- we are all connected. The industries which harm native animals through logging and deforestation, pollute our environment and strip its natural resources, lead to a community who are vulnerable to disasters, to inadequately funded housing solutions and disaster relief.
Our region is currently in the midst of a massive housing crisis, brought about in part by natural disasters which are the direct result of climate change.
There are those who profit under this system. Addressing a single issue ignores the interconnectedness of our wellbeing.
We can be kind to animals and end native animal extinction, we can be leaders in environmental change, we can recover from disasters with an approach which holds those in power accountable.
If we can be kind to animals, people and planet, we will thrive.
Your final pitch to voters
One small act, can have an impact and bring about change.
A simple number one in the box next to the Animal Justice Party.
Being a public person may not be for everyone. But if you want change, voting is one of the fundamental ways that you can play a role, sending a message about what truly matters and that enough is enough.
Ross Honniball – Sustainable Australia Party
How long have you lived in the electorate?
Eight years.
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
Frustration with the ‘growth at all costs’ obsession of the major parties. Sustainable Australia Party is the only party to acknowledge that endless growth in resource consumption and population is a problem, not a solution.
What's your plan for the electorate?
Protect our environment, stop overdevelopment and stop corruption. This includes protecting wildlife and forests, reducing pollution, reviewing rail transport, supporting transparent reporting of political donations and banning political donations from big business and unions.
What's the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
I will bring attention to the challenges of growth and the problems it underscores.
Endless rapid growth in consumption and population is the underlying cause of many big issues such as housing and rental costs, ecosystem collapse, pollution and climate change.
Your final pitch to voters
Sustainable Australia Party’s plan is to protect our environment, stop over development and stop corruption. Sustainable Australia Party is the only party to acknowledge that growth is a problem, not a solution.
Our political system has been corrupted by donations from big business such as mining companies. Sustainable Australia want to reform the political donation system and make it more transparent. Politicians should be looking after the interests of the people ahead of looking after big business interests.
So many people are struggling with high rental and house costs. Sustainable Australia supports fundamental changes to improve the long term crisis in the housing and rental markets. This means addressing the root cause of government-engineered hyper demand.
We need to phase out negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, foreign ownership and rapid population growth.
Adam Guise – Greens
How long have you lived in the electorate?
I‘ve lived in Lismore for over 20 years, since moving here in 1999 to study at university.
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
I love and care deeply about our community who are on the front lines of climate change and a housing crisis. The major parties have failed to take sufficient action to address the climate emergency, and are still backing new coal and gas despite all the science.
This is insanity if we want a liveable planet.
While Labor and the Nationals still take money from the fossil fuel industry, our democracy is being corrupted. This has to change.
What’s your plan for the electorate?
Off the back of devastating floods, we need a fair and equitable flood recovery that is community and First Nations led. Instead, from the Liberals and Nationals government, we are getting a top down approach which has left the community out of decisions and people still homeless one year on.
We need a rapid transition to a renewable energy economy and the protection of our native forests from logging to avert the worst of the climate catastrophe.
Rather than leaving it to the free market to deliver housing for property investors, we need government intervention to build public, social and affordable housing, so that everyone has a home.
Our region is a leader in protecting our environment and caring for our community, and I want to support and enhance these strengths by investing in our future.
Tax corporations and billionaires their fair share so that families aren’t shouldering the cost of living.
What's the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
Housing and climate change are the most pressing issues our region faces.
We have lost thousands of homes and people from our region because of the devastating 2022 floods.
We need climate adaptation plans funded by levying the fossil fuel polluters in order to pay for the damage that they‘ve done.
We need to acquire flood-free land in order to enable landswaps and affordable house relocations, as well as building new affordable and well-designed housing suitable for an ageing and increasingly single-occupant household population.
Leaving it to the free market will see a further exodus of people from our region and a growing divide between rich and poor. Rather than letting disaster capitalism dictate our recovery, we need to ensure that our most vulnerable are looked after and that we are more resilient to future disasters.
Your final pitch to voters
The Greens are people powered and unlike the Nationals, Liberals and Labor, we don't take dirty donations from corporations or fossil fuel companies.
To take back our democracy we must ban corporate donations and remove the stranglehold of vested interests in politics.
We can’t allow companies making multi-billion dollar profits to keep buying influence.
Electing just another puppet to the major parties will perpetuate more of the same: further climate inaction, more coal and gas, and a widening divide between rich and poor.
Your vote is powerful and by electing a Greens member, we would send shockwaves through the establishment and kickstart the transformational change we so need.
Alex Rubin – The Nationals
How long have you lived in the electorate?
Tenterfield is my hometown, where we have our family farm. Having spent 26 years in the Army, and being deployed to 19 countries and all across Australia, I have been away for a long time.
Whenever, I was deployed overseas my wife and our children would return to the farm to be with family.
It has only been the last four years that I have been posted back into the electorate.
Serving in the Army is not an easy, you are posted (every two years) according to Army’s requirements; although this is a great adventure when you are young it very hard on families.
Why have you decided to put your hand up for election?
In 2022, having been intimately involved in the flood response and recovery, it was clear to me that ‘Lismore is still in Limbo’. Nobody is fighting to protect us from the next flood, bushfire or drought. I believe that the people of this electorate deserve better.
It infuriates me that people remain without homes. Our recovery has stalled and nobody is focused on flood protection for our community’s future.
I want to bring a lifetime of experience to restart our region’s recovery and build towards a vision of a ‘Future Ready Lismore’.
So, on November 11, I resigned from the Army to run in this election.
For someone who hasn’t been a political staffer, councillor or activist it’s a steep learning curve.
This was not an easy decision for our family, but I believe this is my next mission. Regardless I jumped without a parachute.
What's your plan for the electorate?
I want to defend this region from future disasters and rebuild our broken communities, which is going to take a decade of hard work that I have the energy to see through.
My focus has always been delivering practical solutions – it’s how I was trained.
Our policies are focused on regional Australians, to rebalance the growing divide between city and country. We must have:
1. Water Security – Flood protection & drought preparedness.
2. Roads & Bridges – Raising our roads to make them flood safe and pothole free.
3. Emergency Services – Investment in our immediate response to floods and bushfires.
4. Better Health Services – More healthcare workers, better pay and conditions.
5. Future Ready Education – Investment in early childhood education, smarter classrooms, and better subject options for students.
6. Economic Development – Value added processing and ‘agile industries’ that supports local businesses.
7. Law and Order – Bringing back 24-hour manned police stations (crime is not just nine to five).
What‘s the most significant issue in the electorate and how will you address it?
The challenge for this region is rebuilding hope. After facing droughts, bushfires, mouse plagues and catastrophic flooding we need a to restore the confidence of our communities to rebuild and become Future Ready.
Our region becoming Future Ready requires a plan to make us drought proof and flood safe. The Northern Rivers is, ironically, both the most drought prone and flood prone in NSW.
There has been a lack of action, and quite frankly we deserve better. But it is not too late, we stand at a ‘fork in the road’ with the opportunity to look beyond the current election cycle and rebuild our region for the benefit of the next generation.
Associated with the lack of hope is spiralling crime epidemic. As a parent, the rise in drugs and random crime across our region is horrifying. I worry about our children’s safety when they leave home.
Your final pitch to voters?
I want to raise the bar. As we have moved round this region one message is clear – everyone has lost faith in our politicians. The social contract has been broken.
People are sick of the childish games, the deceit and lack true conviction.
We all want to an end to the backroom deals, schoolyard bullying tactics, concessions and the trade-offs.
I want to be a new generation of leader, not a retail politician that just follows ideological or party lines, who genuinely cares about making life better for our regional communities.
If nothing else, I aspire to earn back respect of the public.
My personal creed is that ‘Leaders Eat Last’ and I promise to check my ego at the door and fight for what our whole community will benefit from. I care, I want real change, and my promise to you is accountability, honesty and leadership.
* Questions were also sent to Matthew Bertolli – Fishers and Farmers, and Allen Crosthwaite – Independent, but a response had not been received at time of publication. Answers may have been edited for clarity or due to length.
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