Policy Platform
My policies for the 2024 Queensland election are as follows. There are more to come and if you have a suggestion, please contact me on rhysbosleyforalgester@gmail.com.
Australian identity, sovereignty, culture and values in a diverse community.
Algester electorate has people who have backgrounds from all corners of the World living in 66 square kilometres, who live their lives alongside their neighbours in a peaceful, cooperative and caring manner. My policies relating to identity, sovereignty, culture and values are as follows.
- All Queenslanders are expected to be first and foremost loyal to Australian and Queensland sovereignty and committed to Australian and Queensland law, values and interests.
- Australian values include democratic decision making, rule of law, personal responsibility, a commitment to help the genuinely needy, individual liberty once necessary community obligations are met, fairness, compassion, tolerance, freedom of speech, belief and association, and having a sense of humour.
- The wisdom and contribution of older citizens is to be respected.
- All cultures present in the Algester electorate make it the vibrant, fun place that it is to live, with all contributions being respected and celebrated.
- Service to others, including through the Australian Defence Force, emergency services and volunteers, should be honoured.
- Urban and regional Queenslanders should work cooperatively for the benefit of all Queenslanders, respecting and valuing each other's contributions and perspectives.
-I do not support a treaty or treaties between the State of Queensland and Aboriginal and Torres Strait island groups, as I believe that this would undermine the sovereignty and unity of our state. This does not absolve the Queensland Government of its responsibility to correct poor policy which is holding many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people back, particularly in regional and remote Queensland.
Safety from crime
All Queenslanders deserve to be free of the threat of crime against themselves and their property, but sadly the Queensland Government has failed miserably in its duty to provide it. My policies to make the citizens of Algester safe from crime are as follows.
-Strengthen self-defence rights including legalising access for law abiding citizens to non-lethal self-defence items, such as tasers, pepper spray and batons. Queenslander Parliament should also pass Castle Law, to legally protect citizens who use force against home invaders.
-Illegal drug policy should prioritise preventing the health problems and criminal behaviour associated with illegal drug use, not to increase legal freedom to take recreational drugs. The Queensland Government should adopt firm messaging that illegal drug use is never safe and reintroduce effective penalties, to act as a deterrent against recreational drug use (see medical cannabis and drug rehabilitation policies in healthcare section).
-Adequate sentencing of criminals, including relocation sentencing to rural areas for serious repeat youth offenders, as per the Katter's Australian Party policy, which can be viewed at this link. Relocation Sentencing - Katter’s Australian Party (kap.org.au)
-Change bail laws to prioritise protecting the community, over the perceived welfare of alleged offenders.
-The capacity of Queensland correctional facilities should be reviewed and increased as necessary, to accommodate additional demand as a result of tougher sentencing.
-Law enforcement is a state responsibility, so if crime fighting measures such as security cameras and speedbumps are needed on Local Council infrastructure, the Queensland Government should pay for it.
-Current Queensland Police Service firearms training for most officers after recruitment is only conducted once a year. This is inadequate to ensure that officers can confidently use their firearms and should be increased as is necessary. Police should also be allowed to practice with their service weapons at civilian firearms ranges, without having to obtain a civilian firearms licence.
Sustainable Population
South-East Queensland has an enviable lifestyle and environment, but it is under threat from rapid population growth, which causes housing scarcity, congestion and destroys nature. My population policy is:
-The Queensland Government should advocate to the Australian Government for a migration rate to Australia of 60,000 to 70,000 people per annum, to stabilise Australia's population at below 30 million.
- The Queensland Government should have a population plan, to transition Queensland from a high population growth economy to a stable population. The plan should incorporate infrastructure, skills and training, innovation and industry support, and should accommodate the needs of regional Queensland areas that need higher rates of population growth to South-East Queensland.
- Every effort should be made to ensure that qualifications gained overseas by existing immigrants to Queensland, are recognised and utilised, before encouraging additional immigration into Queensland.
Economy, infrastructure and business
I have a background in infrastructure policy and qualifications in economics and finance, which would allow me to ensure that government properly manages your money. This is critical to deliver Algester it's fair share, reduce cost of living pressures, deliver better healthcare, law and order, education, social services, infrastructure, and to eliminate unnecessary taxes. My economic, infrastructure and business policies are as follows.
-The Queensland Government should build a rail line from Salisbury to Hillcrest, with several conveniently located stations in the Algester electorate, by the 2032 Olympics.
- The Queensland Government should produce a credible plan to end the housing and healthcare crisis within a maximum of four years. Otherwise, the Olympics should not proceed and funding allocated should pay for it directed to housing and healthcare.
- Demand an end to the Queensland Government's $26 billion "Energy and Jobs Plan" to replace electricity infrastructure well before the end of its service life, with large scale wind, solar and pump hydro generation. Nuclear energy should be considered on its merits against other forms of generation, when the coal fired generators need replacing (see Environment Policy below).
- The Queensland Government should make a fair contribution towards providing local infrastructure and services, when councils cannot reasonably be expected to deliver within their existing revenue base. Guarantees should be sought by the state from councils that important projects in all wards will be addressed, irrespective of politics.
- Queensland government should provide sufficient support to industries to generate good long-term jobs that are close to worker's homes and which do not rely on excessive population growth.
- Workers conditions should prioritise workplace health and safety, including the impact of work on health outside of work hours, while achieving fair pay and increasing productivity.
- The Queensland Government's regulation reform agenda needs rejuvenation, with ongoing efforts to identify and reduce unnecessary regulation, and with regulation impact statements being developed for every new law impacting business.
Housing
The housing crisis remains critical in Queensland, with many Queenslanders still living on the streets, in tents and other unsuitable accommodation. This is a shameful situation which is a result of too high population growth, as per the previous point. Aside from reducing population growth, here are my policies to improve housing availability and affordability.
- Prioritise public expenditure on public housing. This is critical to protect the most at risk of homelessness, as public housing is the only type of housing that can be allocated exclusively to Queenslanders.
- Remove costly regulation on housing construction, such as recently introduced energy efficiency standards. Where a social need is to be met, such as increasing accessible housing stocks, government assistance such as tax concessions, should be provided to cover the cost to developers.
- Encourage migration to regional Queensland by extending the first home buyer’s grant to existing rather than just new housing in regional locations, uptake of underutilised housing stock. Appropriate infrastructure and services would need to be provided in these locations for the increased population.
- To ensure that scarce building resources such as labour and materials are used on addressing the housing crisis, all proposed major private sector construction projects should be assessed, to ensure that they meet needs of Queenslanders. Projects such as luxury and student apartment blocks, that will primarily meet interstate/oversea migrant needs, should not be approved.
- Regulate to limit use of housing as short-term holiday accommodation such as Air BnB, by requiring people using those services to purchase a tradable license from the Government, which license numbers limited to what is needed.
Healthcare
My policies for healthcare are as follows.
- Protect healthcare worker pay and conditions, to ensure that those jobs are competitive for the purposes of recruitment and retention.
-The Queensland Government should buy and operate private nursing homes that are not operating, to reduce the number of older people waiting in hospital for aged care places. Private nursing homes should not be repurposed as general emergency housing as has been the Queensland Government's recent practice.
-Repeal the GP payroll tax.
-People with serious legal and illegal drug addiction, should receive appropriate support and rehabilitation.
-Voluntary assisted dying should remain legal.
- Good quality palliative care should be available throughout Queensland.
-Medical cannabis, prescribed and dispensed by an appropriately qualified health professional, should remain legal.
-The Queensland Government should run a full inquiry into the historical abuses that were allegedly perpetrated at the Wolston Park Mental Health facility.
Education
My policies to ensure that Queensland children and young people enjoy a high-quality education are as follows.
- The Queensland and Federal Government should reach an agreement which achieves 100 percent state school funding, by 2025.
- I would support P&C Queensland's proposed $600 per annum payment by the Queensland Government under their "Hands up for kids" policy, to ensure that Queensland children and teens continue to receive a high-quality education, in the face of the cost-of-living crisis. My support would be conditional on mechanisms being in place, to ensure that this money was spend on children.
- A future Queensland Government should protect and improve teacher's pay and conditions, to make teaching an attractive profession for the best and brightest.
- There should be a systematic process in parliament to identify and reduce unnecessary red tape, which burden's the Queensland education system.
- Targets should be set and measures should be put in place, to reverse the decline in male teacher numbers in Queensland. Men have fallen from just under half to about a quarter of teachers in the last four decades.
- Queensland families should remain free to homeschool their children, without additional impediments being put in place by governments.
- All Queensland high schools should be associated with a military cadet unit or units, to provide students with the option of undertaking cadet training at appropriate times during school and as an extra curricula activity.
-I support the continued availability of religious chaplains, as well as secular guidance/wellbeing staff, in state schools.
Environment
Queenslanders value their natural environment and want to take practical measures to protect it. Environmental policy has been hijacked by ideologically and commercially driven environmental policies, that are actually harmful to the environment as well as to Queenslanders. My environmental policies are:
-Unsustainable human population growth, both in Australia and overseas, should be recognised as the most significant driver of environmental destruction, and addressed as per the sustainable population policy above.
-Carbon emissions mitigation efforts should be tempered with realism about what mitigation Queensland can afford to undertake and the token contribution to global emissions reduction, that Queensland can make. Measure that fulfil complementary purposes, such as public transport which is needed to reduce congestion and biofuels which improve Australian fuel security, should be prioritised.
-Queensland should degazette national parks that are regrown forestry and operate them for as self-funding, sustainable forestry, that accommodates recreation and rural industries such as grazing and bee keeping. The savings should be redirected to properly providing infrastructure and environmental management, for our genuinely special national parks.
-Farmers should be respected as responsible long-term stewards of most of Queensland's land mass, respected and supported to look after the land, rather than being harassed with unnecessary regulation. .
-The Queensland Parliament should investigate the role of foreign donors with apparent links to the fossil fuel industry, to Queensland environmental organisations, to ensure that Queensland environmental policy is being made in the best interests of Queensland our environment.
-The role of recreational and commercial hunters in reducing numbers of introduced animals such as feral pigs and wild deer, should be recognised and supported. Use of suitable game meat taken from management efforts, should be encouraged.
-Critical water sources such as the Great Artesian Basin should be protected from industrial activity, such as carbon capture and storage.
-All environmental science used to inform public policy, should be subject to quality assurance by an independent office of science review, to ensure that it is methodologically sound.
Men and Boy's Welfare and Rights
For too long governments and big business have taken advantage of societal expectations that value male lives less than females, which is known as "Male disposability bias". This has resulted in Queensland men on average four years less than women, having three times the rate of suicide and overall worse health outcomes. My men's health policy is as follows.
- All Queensland Government policy impacting males, should explicitly address male disposability bias, to ensure that policy is written to assist Queensland men and boys to achieve equally healthy, happy lives as Queensland women and girls.
- Develop a Queensland Men’s Health Strategy in consultation with Queensland men and boys, backed with one billion dollars in funding, equivalent to the funding allocated to the 2024 Queensland Women’s Health Strategy.
- Require business to end work practices such as involuntary, unreasonable work hours,
that are associated with high rates of suicide.
- Support and encouraging men to seek training and employment of male mental health professionals in female dominated mental health professions such as psychology, social work, occupational therapy and nursing,
Women and Girl's Welfare and Rights
Women have fought hard over many decades to achieve equality with men, both at home and in the workplace. The Queensland Government should continue to protect the gains that have been made and to improve where inequalities still exist. My policies for women's rights are:
- If elected, I would establish a diverse women's consultative committee for the Algester electorate, to guide me on women's policy and needs within the electorate.
- Wage gains for critical female dominated industries such as nursing and teaching, should be protected from any cuts by a possible future LNP government. The conditions in these industries should continue to improve, to ensure that they remain competitive.
- I would champion women in blue collar industries such as manufacturing, construction and transport, located in the Algester, to encourage employers to address challenges and biases, that discourage to women from seeking work in the many well paying jobs in these industries.
- Protect the $1 billion funding for the Women's Health Strategy from LNP cuts.
-I generally support abortion being legal and available up to the 22 week of pregnancy. For any vote relating to pregnancies 22 weeks and beyond, I would be guided through consultation with the women of Algester electorate. I would also consult with the women of Algester in relation to any vote relating to sex selective abortion, at any stage of a pregnancy. I will never vote to deny a girl below the age of consent an abortion. I support the legal mandating of proper care for comfort, of babies born live during an abortion procedure.
-In instances where the rights of biological women and transgender women are incompatible, such as in sport or in shared private spaces, the rights of biological women should prevail.
Outdoor Recreation
I firmly believe in the power of outdoor recreation for personal wellbeing, community development, connectedness with the environment and to drive sustainable economic growth. It is what got me into politics and if elected, I will fight hard for the rights of outdoor recreation users. My outdoor recreation policies are that:
-All Queenslanders should be able to enjoy their favourite recreational activities such as camping, four-wheel driving, hunting, fishing, trail bike riding, recreational prospecting and fossicking, horse riding, mountain bike riding and wheeled sled dog racing on Queensland public land and public waters, for free or at minimum cost for any necessary licensing.
-Urban spaces for sport and outdoor recreation should be protected from encroachment by development and privately owned outdoor recreation facilities should remain zoned as such, irrespective of sale.
-The Queensland Government should develop an outdoor recreation industry strategy, to encourage investment in outdoor recreation manufacturing and services.
-People who lawfully enjoy the shooting sports should be treated in the same manner as is expected for any other pastime, free from unnecessarily onerous restrictions on firearms ownership and use and free from scapegoating and demonisation by politicians, public servants and police.
-Oppose the lockup of state lands, due to native title claims.
