Newly elected Bathurst MP Paul Toole

In last Saturday’s State election (26 March), the Coalition received the voters mandate to lead the government with an overwhelming and unprecedented majority in Australian politics. The Coalition had an average statewide swing of around 17 per cent.

In Bathurst, a traditional Labor seat, National’s candidate Paul Toole won the Bathurst seat over the Country Labor’s candidate Dale Turner by an unprecedented swing of more than 36 per cent, not only the highest in this State election, but may well be the highest swing in Australian politics since 1950.

On a two-candidate preference basis, Mr Toole garnered 73.6 per cent as against Mr Turner’s 26.4 per cent of the district’s 49,419 enrolled votes.

Mr Toole is currently mayor of the Bathurst Region.

Bathurst, proclaimed a town in 1815 and considered Australia’s oldest inland city, is just two and a half hours drive from Sydney at the junction of the Great Western, Mid Western and Mitchell Highways. It is also known for its Mount Panorama racing circuit and Charles Sturt University.

Bathurst City has a very active Filipino Australian community. After the Welcome Wagon’s Mayor’s Morning Tea last Friday (1 April), Filipiniana Friends Group president Nenita Weekes managed to get a brief interview with the newly elected Bathurst MP to share with The Filipino Australian readers his insights and thoughts. // Editor

Nenita Weekes: To what do you attribute your historic win for the Nationals in Bathurst?

Paul Toole: There was a very strong mood for change in Bathurst electorate and I felt that people thought that they had been taken for granted for a long time. They thought that the former government was also very City centric and only concentrated on Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong, and what they were looking for was a representative for regional areas. Having been someone myself who�s been born and bred in the local area, someone who works in the community, is raising a young family here, being a school teacher, local councilor and a Mayor, this has certainly made a huge significance when we went to the Poll on Saturday last week.

MP Paul Toole with Nenita Weekes (center) and newcomers to Bathurst after the Welcome Wagon’s Mayor’s Morning Tea

NW: What is your first priority when you take up your office as Member of Parliament?

PT: Over the next month, it�s a matter of setting up offices, getting staff, and undertaking the induction process in the Parliament. Also important is that you are seen out there amongst the communities. A lot of people put their trust in you, so I think that it is also very important to get out there as quickly as possible. To let people know that you are working on their behalf and really are their advocate and someone who will sit down and listen to people, and listen to what their concerns are, and then make sure that the advice is taken to the Parliament and raised on their behalf.

NW: How do you see your new role as Member of Parliament being different from your role as regional mayor?

PT: By being an MP, it is a larger role, it means you will be covering a bigger area. As the MP you will be looking after Bathurst, Blayney, Oberon, Lithgow, Kandos and Rylstone. So therefore the issues are bigger and there�s more communities to deal with. Can I just say as Mayor of Bathurst for the past four years, I love being the Mayor, it�s been an honour and privilege to serve my community, and what I am looking now by being an MP for the electorate in Bathurst is to make sure to get out there, continue to show that energy and enthusiasm, and work as hard as I can make sure the services are brought here and delivered to the Bathurst electorate.

MP Paul Toole with Nenita Weekes and newcomers to Bathurst after the Welcome Wagon’s Mayor’s Morning Tea

NW: Acknowledging that multiculturalism is a Federal issue, what are your thoughts on the current Federal Government’s multicultural policy? What are the National�s views?

PT: You only have to look at regional areas to see that we are a multicultural and diverse community. We must make sure we cater for all different groups, who decided to move into regional areas, especially in my Bathurst electorate. We will look at this at State level. We are a multicultural society and we will make sure that we address this and be all one.

NW: Is there any message you would like to give to the Filipino Community of Bathurst and the Central West and the whole of NSW?

PT: The Filipino Community over the years have been a wonderful people. I had the pleasure of working with so many of them. I have been invited to so many different functions throughout the year and look forward to continuing that association, whether it is just here in the Bathurst electorate or in the wider area of Central West, or in the wider area of NSW. These people are my friends and very supportive of me, and I now look at trying to repay that support over many years.

Nenita Weekes: Thank you Paul and congratulations once again and also thanks for your time.

Paul Toole: It�s a pleasure and thank you very much.