“IF you look after the people, the politics takes care of itself.”
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That’s been Kevin Anderson’s motto since he became member for Tamworth in 2011, and it’s a creed he plans to stick to in 2019.
With an election less than three months away, the Nationals MP said it was “head down and bum up all the way”.
“If I’m fortunate enough to be re-elected in March, I’ve got a long list of things to do and there is plenty of work to be done. I’m really keen to see some of this stuff come through.”
Improving Tamworth’s emergency services is one of the first items on his list: fighting for a new fire station, a new ambulance station and an upgraded police station.
“Those three services, they’re our front line,” Mr Anderson said.
“There’s been a lot of work going on in the background in regards to the upgrade to the Tamworth police station and what that’s going to look like.”
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Mr Anderson said health was another one of his main priorities this year.
“We can’t just target one area, we’ve got to put the scope across the lot and see what we can do better to improve our way of life,” Mr Anderson said.
“From a health perspective, we’ve got this brand-new hospital in Tamworth, and I want to continue recruiting more doctors and more specialists.
“I’m pleased to see a number of clinics are opening up across the region, which is helping to alleviate some of the pressure facing our specialists.
“The Gunnedah hospital redevelopment is rolling ahead; we’ve spent $2 million on that and we are already looking at more design plans, so I’m keen to keep pushing that.
“We’ve also started the first steps towards building a better Banksia [Mental Health Unit], so I’m very excited about that.”
The drought and its flow-on effect will continue to dominate much of the year.
“People are hurting, there’s no doubt about that,” Mr Anderson said.
“I’m looking at what I can do on behalf of the community, to make sure I can do everything I can to support them.”