By JONATHON HOWARD
RESIDENTS across Maranoa will go to the polls this Saturday, 7 September, to help determine the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will attempt to win a third term for the incumbent Labor government against the rising tide of the opposition Coalition led by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal National Party of Australia.
To assist local Southern Downs’ voters in casting their important vote, the Southern Free Times has included a detailed guide of where to vote as well as the names and faces of seven candidates.
Candidates:
John Spellman – Family First
Mr Spellman moved to Queensland six years ago and to the Southern Downs in 2011. He contested Southern Downs as the Family First candidate at the 2012 Queensland election.
Nick Cedric-Thompson – Australian Labor Party
Mr Cedric-Thompson lives in Roma where he co-ordinates Roma’s Aboriginal Family Legal Service for Southern Queensland. He was born in Toowoomba and has a Bachelor of Social Science and is currently studying to attain a Masters of Social Work as well as a Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management.
Grant Newson – The Greens
Mr Newson lives in the rural South Burnett region near the Bunya Mountains. He is a member of the local Rural Fire Brigade and states that he isn’t afraid of pitching in and getting his hands dirty. He lived on the Darling Downs for 17 years, contested this seat at the 2010 Federal election and Nanango at the 2012 Queensland election.
Bruce Scott – Liberal National Party of Queensland
Mr Scott was first elected in 1990 and first joined the Opposition Shadow Ministry in April 1992. In government Scott served as Minister for Veterans’ Affairs 1996-2001 and Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence 1998-2001. After losing seats at the 2001 election, the National Party lost one frontbench position under the Coalition agreement, Scott becoming the sacrificial lamb. Scott was elected Deputy Speaker in October 2012 following Peter Slipper’s resignation as Speaker. Before entering Parliament, Scott was a wool producer and grain grower.
George Mousley Clouston – Rise Up Australia Party
Mr Mousley Clouston was born in the country town of Ladysmith, in the province of Kwa Zulu Natal, Republic of South Africa in 1965. He grew up on a dairy, beef and crop farm in the Midlands of Natal under the shadows of the Drakensberg Mountains. He is the third son in the family of four boys. In 2008, George visited friends in Newcastle and fell in love with Australia, its people, freedoms and way of life. The family immigrated to Australia in December 2008 to work in agriculture in the Dalby region, where they live today. This opened the doors to his current career in Safety at the Western Downs Regional Council. His love for Australia compelled him to action, to preserve this nation’s freedoms and to serve a nation that welcomed his family as their own.
John Bjelke-Petersen – Palmer United Party
Possessing a name sure to warm the hearts of conservative supporters, John Bjelke-Petersen is the son of the former Queensland Premier Sir Joh and former Queensland Senator Lady Flo. The father of four sons now runs the family’s mixed farming and tourism property ’Bethany’ near Kingaroy. Bjelke-Petersen was the unsuccessful National candidate against Peter Slipper in Fisher at the 1996 Federal election, and was also the unsuccessful candidate trying to defeat Dolly Pratt in his local state seat of Nanango, as a National in 2006 and as an LNP candidate in 2009.
