Independent candidate for the Riverina James Gooden has put his hand up for the upcoming federal election. Photo: Supplied.
It’s time for a ‘Change for Good’.
That’s the slogan for independent candidate for the Riverina James Gooden, who aims to secure a seat in Federal Parliament later this year.
Looking to turn the tide on the cost-of-living crisis and party politics, Mr Gooden believes it is time for an independent member to advocate for the Riverina.
“We’ve got to make sure that we are well represented and strong representation in parliament is vital to that,” Mr Gooden said.
“I grew up on the western side of the Riverina between Narrandera and Jerilderie on Yanco Creek. I moved east 20-odd years ago when my wife and I started our family. We’ve spent our entire lives in this community and are educated about the needs of our Riverina community.
“If elected, the first thing I will focus on is reducing the cost of living. People can’t afford to keep their homes; there’s been stamp duty relief to get people into the homes and other benefits but now interest rates are so high they can’t afford to keep them.
“The CPI needs to be under control, and we need to get interest rates down for small businesses, large businesses and families who own and are looking to own homes.”
Mr Gooden said one of the biggest hindrances to regional progress was the appointment of career politicians.
“The career politicians is an issue,” he said.
“The other most important thing is, is that they’ve been there for a long time, and they’ve got to abide by party politics. We need to really mix it up and have a strong independent like myself, purely because we don’t need to abide by others.
“For so long the Riverina has been seen as a ‘safe seat’ by the Coalition, yet we don’t get any of the benefits because we are seen as ‘safe’.
“We need to get the cost of living down and access to affordable health care and I don’t believe we will see that under another Nationals term.
“We need to be able to have sustainable farming, and we also need to be able to have food security.
“Government spending is out of control, and we need to turn it around. We have a government that is now running around making all sorts of promises leading up to an election instead of making detailed and beneficial policies.
“We need a member who spends three years researching and looking on what people’s needs are to get elected, not five minutes before the election is held.”
Mr Gooden is asking everyone in the community to do their research before the federal election and to contact him and his team if they have any questions.
“Google James Gooden; look out for our fliers; our people are out and about everywhere,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid to reach out. Send an email, get in contact and if you’re interested in volunteering, supporting or donating, we’d like to have you on board to support us on this challenge.”
The federal election will be held on or before 17 May.
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