Wikinews interviews Brenton Clutterbuck, candidate for the electorate of Maroochydore at the upcoming Queensland election

March 13, 2009 With a Queensland state election coming up in Australia, many minor parties will be looking to hold balance of power and making the major parties listen to what they have to say. The Queensland Greens are one of these parties.

Wikinews reporter Patrick Gillett held an exclusive over-the-phone interview with Greens candidate for the electoral district of Maroochydore, Brenton Clutterbuck.

Mr. Clutterbuck is a graduate of Sunshine Coast Grammar School and is currently studying Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Queensland's unicameral parliament is up for election on March 21. The election campaign will run for a total of 26 days following the issue of the writs by Governor Penelope Wensley.

Interview
Some editing of these comments was done by the reporter and may not be exact.

Why do you want to get into parliament?

The main reason is because the electorate is badly underrepresented. There are only two other candidates in this electorate, the Labor Party and the LNP. Both have poor environmental policy.

What would the three main policies you are taking into this election be?
 * 1) What we call ‘Green collar jobs’. Basically these are environmentally and economically friendly jobs. This includes improving transport and installing insulation for homes.
 * 2) Managing where the money is going. No idealism. We would be taking a look at and scrapping a lot of old labor policy such as the Traveston Crossing Dam
 * 3) and locally, education. Give a lot of support for teachers.  This applies across primary and secondary schooling as well as at tertiary level.

How would you address these policies?

Basically aim to support as many positive bills as possible. If the positive bill is not introduced then you introduce the bill. Through cooperation with other members you get things done. Whether others listen is another question. You should always do what’s in the best interests of the electorate

'''You recently gave comment to the Sunshine Coast Daily about uranium mining in Queensland. Does the LNPs position have merit or should they directly invest in renewable energy technology?'''

There is no merit to it, or to Labor's proposal to invest in uranium. We want to have a nuclear free Australia and no nuclear waste. Don’t send overseas where the disposal is up to other countries.

Which renewable energy technology would you prefer to see invested in most?

Solar. Absolutely solar, it’s the oldest and most familiar. We know a lot about solar. We know more about solar than any other technology. I’m getting this from a speech by Ronan Lee “We will build two new solar thermal power stations, one near Townsville and one on the Darling Downs, creating jobs, reducing pollution and making electricity cheaper.”

'''In a recent article I wrote about McDonald’s appeal against a council decision, you commented that Labor and the LNP [Liberal National party] had a long history of being pro big business. Would you be willing to introduce policy to the contrary?'''

It’s not a problem. It’s a problem that big business has influence in those parties. It’s like Springborg with the uranium business donations. Big business should not be directing policy

Should big business back off and respect the community?

Should always respect the community desires. Community always votes with its feet. Where there is a conflict of interest, business should always respect the community. As I said before, big business should not be directing policy.