ACM has been running a series of Lyne candidate profiles in the lead-up to Saturday's (May 21) federal election. Our latest Q & A interview is with Liberal Democrats candidate Mark Hornshaw.
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What is your background?
My wife and I have six kids and we live at Lorne. I am a university lecturer in Economics and Entrepreneurship and have previously served as President of a State Sporting Organisation and have worked in overseas aid as well as small business. I am on the Liberal Democrats national policy committee and was one of the authors of the Freedom Manifesto along with our Senate candidate John Ruddick. Have a read of it at ldp.org.au/freedom
What prompted you to contest the election?
I would love to just live a peaceful life in our beautiful region amongst the supportive Mid North Coast community. But recent events have shown us that freedom is a fragile thing that we cannot take for granted. The government needs to be held to account for what they have done to us with their heavy-handed response to COVID-19 and their reckless spending and debt.
What do you hope to achieve by standing in the election?
To say to the ruling coalition of Liberal/National/Labor/Greens (whose policies all seem to be the same) that the community will not put up with what they have done to us. Power mad politicians need to be held to account. And we will not put up with the surveillance state, citizen tracking and cash bans which they want to force on us, and we will not put up with the waste and debt they want to leave to our children.
What is your election platform?
The Liberal Democrats stand for less government, more freedom. The biggest issue facing the electorate is an overbearing government. They have locked us down, mandated us, thrown people out of work and closed businesses over the last two years, and on top of that they have run up almost a trillion dollars of debt with little to show for it. Too much of people's hard earned incomes are carried off to Canberra, forcing them to beg for a small slice of it back, or trust in a political process which can never deliver. We need to drastically reduce the size of government and reduce their power to meddle in our lives.
Why should people vote for you?
If you want a politician who promises they can solve every issue by going off to Canberra with their begging bowl, there are plenty of options on the ballot. But it is invariably a hollow promise. Lyne will always lose in that game. Vote for me if you want a different approach, one that cuts Canberra out of the loop and puts YOU back in charge of your life and your spending priorities, so we can work together to build community at the local level.
Where can people find your policies?
What differentiates you from other Lyne candidates?
The Liberal Democrats are the only party that is serious about eliminating the debt and deficit and reducing the size of government, putting more power back into the hands of honest and productive people that form the community.
