Terry Young Q&A

Ahead of the upcoming election, we sat down with Member for Longman Terry Young to ask him some of the tough questions. Here is what he shared with The Local News. 

Q1: You are coming to the end of your second term, what’s been the driving factor/s for wanting to remain in office for a third consecutive term?  

There is still so much I want to achieve for this community. In government, we were really kicking some goals and getting much done. In opposition, unfortunately there has been little to no interest from the current federal government in this part of the country for more much needed funding for infrastructure and services, despite my advocacy. There have been projects that I secured when we were in government that have been delivered during this term, that the Labor party have taken credit for, but that’s politics and all I care about is that they got done, I don’t care who takes the credit for it. 

Q2: You seem like a guy who strongly cares about the entire community, as you are always out and about at events, schools, etc. Do you find this strategy the best way to connect with the community? 

I am a firm believer that all elected officials must be accessible to the people they serve. Attending as many events as I can, gives an opportunity for constituents to speak directly with me on matters that are important to them. My attitude is how can I fix problems if I don’t know about them? I would spend 10% of my time in my office and 90% out in the community and that will never change while I have the privilege of being the federal Member for Longman. 

Q3: What are your explicit plans after your possible re-election and how will this benefit the area of Longman? 

I have spent six years speaking to people and getting a great understanding of what this community needs and my team and I have been working hard in both government and opposition to advocate and deliver as many of these needs as possible. These needs are extremely diverse and cross all three levels of government responsibility and I pride myself in the fact that I have built a great relationship with both local and state government representatives to work collaboratively on doing what our main focus should always be – getting things done for this community. Obviously, these will become even more effective with an LNP state government, should the coalition be successful at the next federal election. 

Q4: One of your most important goals seems to be creating more jobs in Longman and lowering taxes, how are you going to do this? 

We will announce policies as we get closer to the election. Simple things, like increasing the limit on the instant asset write off for small business which frees up cash to be able to employ more staff, is just one example. I work closely with council in working on strategies to ensure that this community has a competitive edge over other communities around the country to establish their venture here. This will create local jobs and as an added benefit take more load off the already overburdened Bruce Highway if people work in the community where they live. 

Q5: Why should members of the Longman community vote to re-elect you, rather than another candidate?  

I can’t speak to the experience of the other candidates, it’s up to them to present their case on why they believe they are the best candidate and then the people will decide. That’s the democratic process and I respect it. I just hope that all the candidates can stay on policy and not make it personal, but I can’t control that. I have always played the ball not the person and will continue to this. I can only let my record as the federal member for the past six years speak for itself and present the clear facts from history that Australians have always fared better under a coalition government than a Labor government.  

People often tell me that they like the fact that I’ve got real life experience within the private sector starting my working career on a minimum wage, working my way up until I owned my own business and hadn’t spent most of my life working for a political party, prior to running for office. 

People also appreciate the local ties I have to this community, having spent most of my life living, working and playing in Moreton Bay. It gives me a great understanding of how the community ticks and what it needs.