PETER PYKE SENATE CANDIDATE FOR QUEENSLAND
Press Release: 18 August 2010
BOB KATTER BACKS PETER PYKE FOR SENATE
PYKE SAYS REGIONAL QLD DESERVES ANOTHER SENATOR
One of Australia’s longest serving parliamentarians and Independent Federal MP for Kennedy, Bob Katter, has backed Senate candidate and former-state MP Peter Pyke to be elected to the Senate in Queensland.
On Friday Mr Katter and Peter Pyke shared a common platform to discuss water issues and Bob Katter told Fairfax Radio Network that Peter Pyke was a courageous Queenslander who had the runs on the board and who could be trusted by Queenslanders.
Bob Katter said Peter Pyke has his support because he shares his own big-picture, nation-building vision and the same belief that the future of Australia lies in greater support for agriculture and the regions.
Peter Pyke said today. “Bob and I don’t agree on everything, but we agree on most issues and we certainly agree on the need for regional Queensland to be given a much higher priority in the Australian parliament.”
Mr Pyke said today that he had long-respected Mr Katter and believes he is a Queenslander whose major contribution to Australia and Queensland lies ahead of him. “I’ve made a promise to Bob Katter to be guided by him on farming and regional issues and it will be an honour to be mentored by him if I’m elected to the Senate,” the former state-MP and policeman said today.
“Bob Katter has for too long now been a lone voice crying out in the wilderness in Queensland and it’s time he had some support. Bob is a wise and highly experienced Independent MP who has a rare and deep understanding of the opportunities presented to Queensland and our nation and I have been delighted to discover we share similar beliefs even though we come from different sides of the political tracks,” Mr Pyke said today.
The outcome of this Federal Election is likely to be close in the House of Representatives but could result in the Greens holding the balance of power in our Senate. Both Katter and Pyke say that if the Greens gain the balance of power in the Senate they will hold Australia to ransom and impose their demands on whatever government is elected, Liberal or Labor.
In Queensland six Senate seats are up for grabs with the Greens tipped to win the fifth and possibly sixth spots because of a back room deal with Labor for a preference swap.
“Peter Pyke is a far better choice for the Senate for Queenslanders to make than any Green,” Mr Katter says.
Peter Pyke is a well-known Queenslander who has been labelled an anti-corruption campaigner by the media. Pyke bridges city-and-country; originally from Townsville and Brisbane, Mr Pyke has resided in Toowoomba for the past 11 years.
Last week Pyke proposed a Murray-Darling Headwaters Scheme to put more water into our major rivers and to keep farmers on farms and increase agriculture while making river systems sustainable. Conversely, the Greens have done a deal with Labor to stop farmers taking water out of the important river system and many farmers, their families and their communities will be ruined as a result.
Pyke has also said he will not allow our coal industry to be destroyed and sees a continuing future for coal as a power source with new technologies promising to strip all CO2 from smokestacks.
Peter Pyke is a self-employed IT cabling contractor and electrician who backs the NBN and reads widely in the areas of new technologies. Since living in regional Queensland, Pyke says he has discovered how neglected the regions are and he will support all Queenslanders including farmers and our regional communities.
There are 60 choices of candidates or parties in the ‘below the line’ category on the Senate ballot paper, so to vote for Peter Pyke, voters need to put a number one in the box next to his name, then a number two against their second preference and so on, until all 60 boxes have been correctly numbered.
“If I am elected to the Senate, Regional Queensland will gain another much-needed Senator and the Darling Downs will get a Senator’s office in Toowoomba. As well, I’ll get myself a mobile office and spend three months of the year out in regional Queensland. That’s a promise,” Pyke says.
“And just as when I was a State MP, my office will be a one-stop shop for all issues and no-one will be fobbed off. Senators exercise a lot of influence and I have the experience and know-how to use that for the benefit of all Queenslanders,” Pyke says.
Authorised by Peter Pyke, 135 Russell Street, Toowoomba, 4350 0427 388 598