NEWLY endorsed Liberal Party candidate Craig Marsh has vowed to push for competition at Mount Gambier Airport as part of his campaign for the March state election.
Mr Marsh – who swept into the candidacy with a landslide vote by party members – will also support his party’s election platform to create a regional health board to end lingering staffing and budgetary “spot fires” at Mount Gambier Hospital.
The real estate agent and former weather officer has also thrown his support behind his party’s 10-year moratorium pledge on fracking to protect the region’s precious water resources.
But the political hopeful has come out in support of conventional gas mining in the region if it continues to meet stringent environmental regulations.
Mr Marsh will now run for the seat of Mount Gambier after comfortably winning the vote of the Liberal Party faithful on Thursday night.
The well-known Mount Gambier identity defeated realtor Vicki Quinn and Mingbool grazier Tony Beck in the three-way ballot.
It is understood Mr Marsh polled around 30 votes more than Ms Quinn in the preselection vote, which was triggered by the shock resignation of embattled Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell from the Liberal ranks.
Vowing to be a strong and vocal member of parliament, he said he wanted to enter politics to drive the Mount Gambier district forward.
In particular, he wanted to see the management of Mount Gambier Hospital wrestled away from Adelaide-based bureaucracy to stop negativity engulfing the health facility.
“We need to get positive morale and the only way to achieve this is with a regional management board that understands what that hospital needs,” Mr Marsh said.
Moreover, Mr Marsh said the Mount Gambier Airport runway expansion was critical to attracting new air-freight opportunities as well as a second carrier.
He argued the runway extension would accommodate larger charter aircraft to land more regularly, which would fuel tourism growth.
“The extension could open up new export opportunities for fresh produce that probably don’t exist at the moment, such as rock lobster and horticulture,” he said.
While funding for a new terminal would probably need to be funded in a later stage, he said the priority was the runway infrastructure.
“We could then build the business case for a second airline to see more competition at the airport,” Mr Marsh said.
“I do like Regional Express, but it does have a monopoly on our city – as a Liberal, we like competition … we want to see business compete to bring down ticket prices.”
Mr Marsh said he also supported his party’s 10-year moratorium on fracking in the South East to safeguard the region’s water resources.
“We are not sure on the science of fracking, I don’t think it is settled, and importantly there is no social licence – people don’t want it,” he said.
Regarding conventional gas, he said this form of gas mining had been operating in the Penola district for 25 years.
“I have had a look at different papers, there have been some tiny environmental mishaps, nothing serious,” Mr Marsh said.
“We need gas at the moment until we have more renewables and storage.”
Mr Marsh said he did not support “demonising” conventional gas by focusing on concerns over fracking.
The Liberal contender also vowed to consult widely in the community on issues.
“I will be going to the people in the community that have the answers – I won’t be just thinking them up myself,” Mr Marsh said.
