Federal member for Calare Andrew Gee and Labor hopeful Jess Jennings were on hand to face the questions of Bathurst's senior citizens at yesterday's Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association [CPSA] candidate forum.
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Although Bathurst CPSA president John Hollis said on Tuesday that four candidates from Calare were expected to take part in the forum, only Mr Gee and Mr Jennings attended.
As a result, the two candidates were offered an extended period of time [beyond the regular five minutes] to pitch their policies to Bathurst's senior citizens.
Mr Gee recalled his list of achievements throughout his first term as member for Calare, and outlined a number of policies he will push for should he secure a second term in government.
"Drought support is on the top of my list, and we need to ensure that we are providing adequate assistance to our farmers as conditions continue to worsen," he said.
"I will also be advocating for increased capital funding for aged care services across the electorate and will strive to ensure cheaper and easier access to the Family Court of Australia."
In response, Mr Jennings, who has over 20 years of experience in the field of agriculture, took the Calare MP to task over the Nationals' stance on climate change.
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"Climate change is the single biggest threat to our farming community and despite purporting to be a strong supporter of local farmers, Mr Gee and the Nationals have failed to recognise this issue," Mr Jennings said.
"By 2050, it is predicted that this electorate will experience 112 days over 30 degrees annually; a 300 per cent increase on current statistics."
"The Coalition's failure to act properly on climate change is the biggest political betrayal in post-war Australian politics."
A key issue raised by the senior citizens was Labor's plan to scrap franking credit cash refunds from superannuation, causing a furore among the crowd.
Mr Gee said that the Coalition would be making no changes to the franking credit scheme.
"Franking credits are a significant part of a retiree's savings, and it would be unfair to punish Australians who have put in the hard yards to save for their retirement," he said.
Mr Jennings said the scheme was too generous in comparison to the rest of the world.
"80 per cent of franking credit benefits go to the wealthiest 20 per cent of retirees," he said.
"The top percentile of self-managed superannuation funds receive a refund of $83,000, which is more than an average wage."
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Sam Bolt
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
"I'm not in the business of telling people what to do. I'm much more in the business of describing things, situations and stuff like that and leaving them out there, and you can make up your minds about them." -Nick Cave
