In the lead-up to the federal election, The Wombat Post invited all candidates for the seat of Ballarat to respond to three key questions concerning issues of vital importance to residents of Hepburn Shire and rural and regional Australians more broadly. Topics included local government sustainability, access to health and social services, and the specific benefits each candidate believed their election would bring to our community. Candidates were asked to respond within 48 hours to meet our publication deadline and were advised that late submissions would be added to this story as they were received.
Candidate responses are included below in ballot paper order.
Paula DORAN (Liberal)
No response was received by publication deadline. If a late response is received, it will be added to this article.
John BARNES (Greens)
I am writing to you to raise concerns about the unfairness of your email request received at 10 am on April 23, 2025, with a 48 hour response time on specific issues relating to local government sustainability and funding for and access to health, welfare, aged care and child services in regional and rural Australia.
These are big topics that only one of the candidates is in any position to respond to in your unrealistic timeline, and that is Catherine King, who also happens to be the federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. In fact it was she who referred the matter to a committee of enquiry in March of 2024, and has an Interim report from that committee available to her. As the responsible minister, she has the capacity to speak on policy issues on behalf of her party. None of the other candidates has this ability or power, and to expect them to get an approved response within 48 hours during an incredibly busy election period is totally unrealistic.
Aside from the above issue, as the incumbent, Catherine has the advantage of electoral staff both in Ballarat and Canberra, who can and do resource her during the election campaign. The rest of us have none. We cannot delegate or turn away from other commitments we have already made to fulfil your timeline.
It is obvious that other candidates cannot compete. It raises serious concerns about fairness. You run the serious risk of not only contradicting your own Editorial Policy, but the credibility of your community paper being seen as partisan toward Catherine and the Labor Party. I ask that you do not continue to push ahead with your publication plans as outlined in your email.
The issues you raise are important. You should have asked them several weeks ago, or found other issues for comment that all candidates have a chance to answer.
PRYSE-SMITH (Pauline Hanson’s One Nation)
No response was received by publication deadline. If a late response is received, it will be added to this article.
Catherine KING, (Australian Labor Party)
As someone who lives in the regions, I understand the importance of local councils for maintaining our roads, upgrading our infrastructure, and providing the services we all rely on.
That’s why, when Labor came to government, I initiated the Parliamentary Inquiry into the Financial Sustainability of Local Government – the first of its kind in two decades – and I helped deliver significant funding increases to strengthen the sector.
In recognition that local councils, especially in the regions, need additional support to maintain and repair their local road networks, I’ve doubled the Roads to Recovery Program to $1 billion, giving every council in Australia double the funding to fix its roads. I’ve also reinstated and backdated road maintenance indexation after it was frozen under the Coalition Government in 2014, robbing the regions of millions of road funding, and to date, I’ve launched $1 billion in merits-based grants programs, with a large portion going towards the regions.
No government has done more for councils than the Albanese Government. If re-elected, we will continue working with the sector to improve local services and deliver priority projects in every community, including my own.
We know that sometimes local governments need additional support to deliver priority community infrastructure projects. Only a re-elected Labor Government will support Daylesford and Hepburn Soccer Club and Creswick Soccer Club with a $1.2 million investment to upgrade the facilities at Victoria Park and Doug Lindsay Rec Reserve. In doing this we’re encouraging community members to stay healthy, active and connected. We’re also ensuring that more women and girls can get involved in soccer.
Labor also believes every Australian should have easy access to affordable healthcare, which is why we’ve opened 87 urgent care clinics around the country including one in Ballarat. The Ballarat clinic sees between 40 and 60 patients per day, taking pressure off the Base Hospital. If re-elected, we’ve also committed to making the largest investment into Medicare in its history, with the aim to make 90 per cent of GP visits bulk-billed by 2030, and during our term we’ve made childcare fees cheaper for families, given childcare workers and aged care workers a pay rise, and we’re making $1 billion dollars available to build childcare centres in areas that need them most.
Luke PARKER (Independent)
Local Government Funding: I will advocate for a fairer funding model that reduces cost-shifting from state and federal governments to local councils. It’s essential we reform rate capping and provide councils with greater financial autonomy, especially in rural areas like Hepburn Shire. I support the Parliamentary Inquiry and will push for its recommendations to be implemented with genuine bipartisan support.
Health and Community Services: I will fight for increased federal investment in rural health and social services. That means better access to GPs, mental health support, aged care, and childcare. I support incentives to attract and retain health professionals in regional areas and to close the rural health gap.
Benefits to Hepburn Shire and Regional Australians: I’ll be a strong voice for Hepburn Shire and all regional communities—focused on decentralisation, infrastructure, and services. My election means more investment in local jobs, roads, and services, and a commitment to ending reckless renewable projects that harm our farming and agricultural industries in our regions.
Ryan REDFERN (Libertarian)
No response was received by publication deadline. If a late response is received, it will be added to this article.
Ian HARKNESS (Family First)
Ian Harkness Family First website does not include contact details so The Wombat Post was unable to contact Mr Harkness. The website does include an option to make a financial donation to the Party’s campaign.
