Sen. Gary Humphries

EB. - Senator, you have certainly earned the gratitude of the Australian-Polish community - not only in the ACT but nationwide - by standing up in the Senate and defending the good name of Poland and Poles during World War II, reminding the Senators and the public at large about Poland's contribution to the Allied cause and also the contribution of the Australian-Polish community to the development of Australia. In particular, you have emphatically protested against the frequent at the time and false, misleading and defamatory descriptions in some Australian news media of the Nazi German concentration and extermination camps set up by the invaders in German-occupied Poland during 1939-45 as allegedly "Polish". If re-elected, will you continue to do so should the need arise again?

G.H.Absolutely. I believe the suffering of the Polish people during the Second World War should never be forgotten, and I will always defend the memory of those Polish men, women and children whose lives were taken during those awful years.

E.B. -What is your view about the Australian-Polish community in the ACT, its involvement in, and contribution to, the development in the Territory?

G.H. - Like many other ethnic communities, Canberra’s Polish community has made a major contribution to the development of our city over many years. This contribution has been physical, in that many Polish immigrant builders, carpenters and other workers have helped to build important national institutions like Old and New Parliament House; cultural, in that by bringing Polish holidays, history, festivals and foods to Canberra you have enriched our society and made the Territory one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Australia; and international, in that the Polish community creates strong links between the people of Canberra and the people of Poland, fostering an international friendship which is mutually beneficial.

E.B. - Concerns have been expressed as to the future of the SBS, both TV and multi-lingual Radio should the Coalition Government be re-elected on 24 November 2007. There are also concerns about SBS being "thoroughly de-multiculturalised" after the elections. Would you have any comments relating to these concerns?

G.H. I am a big supporter of Australia’s two community broadcasters – SBS and the ABC – and I would hate to see any significant changes made which would damage the integrity of these stations or the quality of the material they broadcast. That said, with the advent of digital television and the potential for broadcasters to stream multiple channels - as SBS currently does - I believe there is room to accommodate both the multicultural content for which SBS is renowned and more mainstream broadcasting.

E.B. - There have been continuous complaints relating to the internal culture and the inadequate quality of services and responses provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, including the ACT and Regional DI&C Office at 3 Lonsdale Street, Braddon, ACT. My recent personal experience with some of the Department's citizenship services concerning a very simple matter was very frustrating. It also appears to confirm some negative experiences related to me by others. After being charged $55 for this service at the very beginning, two personal interviews and providing full certified documentation, it took close to eight weeks, several visits, a number of telephone calls for me to obtain a Certificate of Australian Citizenship that was originally required for APEC Media accreditation (which had to be obtained without this Certificate). I have seen long queues, in the Regional Office in Braddon, and stood in them, spent a long time waiting for my telephone calls to be answered on the DI&C's 1300 telephone line, asked for appointments that were not forthcoming. If re-elected, would you raise the issue of the need to improve DI&C services with the appropriate authorities, including the Minister(s), and/or Parliamentary Secretaries, and also in the Senate, if required? Perhaps part of the solution could be opening another Regional Office in the ACT or at least enlarging the existing one?

G.H. - I am always happy to pursue any matter which concerns my constituents when these are brought to me. On this particular issue, my staff and I deal with the Department of Immigration on a regular basis and as with any large Department, I am aware that there are some areas where improvements could be made. Given Canberra’s large migrant community, I think it would be valuable to investigate whether a second Regional Office is now needed to accommodate the workload, and I would be happy to pursue this within the next term.

E.B. - Could you summarise the basic arguments as to why you believe that:
(a) ACT electors should vote for you in the Senate
(b) ACT electors should vote for the Coalition generally
(c) How their preferences should be distributed
(d) Your plans for the ACT for the next term, if you are re-elected.

Senator Gary Humphries

a) I believe people in the ACT deserve the same representation as every other person in Australia when it comes to their Senators – they should be able to turn to both the Government of the day and the Opposition when they have problems or issues that need raising. I am concerned that if Canberrans put one Labor senator and one minor party senator into the Upper House, they will not be properly represented as they will have no voice at all within one of the two major parties.

On a more personal note, I believe that over the past four years I have been a very strong advocate for Canberra – standing up against both Labor and occasionally my own party to ensure that the ACT maintains its pre-eminent status as our National Capital. This has meant fighting for jobs, as was the case when the Federal Government wanted to move ScreenSound to Sydney; protecting our natural environment and fighting for our national institutions, as in the case of the York Park trees, Old Canberra House and the National Portrait Gallery; and making sure your voices are heard where it counts within the Government.

More recently, I have overseen the handover of Googong Dam from the Commonwealth to the ACT, securing Canberra’s water supply; announced $10 million for the duplication of Lanyon Drive and secured funding for a new Australian Technical College to help give our young people a better chance to become skilled and educated. But there is always more to do, and I believe Canberra needs my representation for another three years to protect against the actions of the ACT Labor Government as well as threats to our economy and community by Federal Labor’s promised cuts to the public service.

b) There is one key reason why I believe ACT residents should consider voting for the Coalition at the coming election, and it is this: while the current government has demonstrated its commitment to Canberra by growing the number of jobs here, increasing investment and development through the building of major new public service departments and supporting our valuable national institutions, Labor is promising to undo all these gains by forming a ‘razor gang’ to rip into public service spending. Just last week Kevin Rudd used those very words – ‘razor gang’ – to describe his plans for the public service, and I believe Canberrans should be very concerned about what exactly Labor has in mind. Because the public service does not just support those who work within it. The public service brings people to Canberra, where they need housing, food, education for their children and ways to pass their leisure time. The fate of Canberra’s small businesses, schools, cultural groups, restaurants, and sporting clubs are all linked to the fate of the public service, and I believe we would immediately see loses to the quality of life in Canberra if Labor were elected.

c) I would not like to tell your readers how to distribute their preferences because I believe this is something they should decide for themselves, however I will say that if they want to support the Liberal Party, they should put a ‘1’ in the Liberal box in the Senate to vote for me, and a ‘1’ next to either Natalie Colbert or Troy Williams as our two candidates for the electorates of Canberra and Fraser.

d) I have set myself a number of personal goals if re-elected. The most important of these is to see Commonwealth and Defence Superannuation pensions brought into line with other government benefits. The current system of indexing Commonwealth pensions means that these are being gradually eroded over time as the cost of living increases, and I believe this needs to be addressed. I have been lobbying hard within my party to make this change happen, and I hope to achieve this within my next term.

There are also several specific local things that I have made it my goal to achieve, including: the situation of a major public service department in Gungahlin to bring further jobs and investment to that region; funding for the West Belconnen Community Health Centre; and the restoration of Tharwa Bridge.