SFF Tasmania to go to the polls with nine candidates

When Tasmania goes to the polls on Saturday 1 May 2021, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party of Tasmania (SFF Tasmania) will have nine candidates standing for election in the House of Representatives. Like the name suggests, SFF Tasmania has long been known for their vocal stance on protecting the rights of individuals to hunt, fish and farm. But in this election, they will be standing on a policy platform that centres around improving health services, protecting food security and keeping public land accessible to all Tasmanians. 

SFF Tasmania Chair Lorraine Bennett, who is running for a seat in the Clark electorate said that, while the Liberal government had done a great job of keeping Covid from our shores, the pandemic had highlighted the fragility of Tasmania’s health department. 

“It is a good thing that we have not had any of the outbreaks that the mainland has had as our health department would struggle to cope with any increase in demand.”

If elected to parliament, SFF Tasmania intends to use their vote to press the government to fix the holes in the health system and to restore rural and regional preventative health services. 

“We have regional Tasmanians being forced to travel to urban hospitals to access vital health services. We also have Tasmanians spending years on a waiting list just to get basic surgeries. Perhaps it’s time the government focused as much effort on fixing the holes in our health department as they do on fixing the holes in our roads.” 

SFF Tasmania also want to use their vote to protect Tasmania’s food security. 

When the pandemic first struck early last year, it didn’t take long for vital supplies to disappear off supermarket shelves. 

And it wasn’t just toilet paper that became as scarce as hen’s teeth. Basic food supplies like eggs, meat, and fresh fruit and vegetables were sent to the mainland to restock their broken supply chains. 

According to Eat Well Tasmania, 78% of locally grown food is exported out of the state to mainland Australia or overseas. 

“Tasmania has the ability to be the food bowl of the nation but that should never come at the expense of our own people. We have a responsibility to ensure that all Tasmanians have affordable access to the wonderful bounty of fresh foods grown and harvested here. We need to stop sending our best produce away and replacing it with cheap, inferior imports from overseas.”

SFF Tasmania believes it is time the government puts Tasmanians first. 

“Tasmania produces some of the best fruits and vegetables in the world, yet 61% of Tasmanians don’t eat enough fruit and a whopping 95% don’t eat enough vegetables. That is a travesty. We believe that all Tasmanians should have access to healthy foods. We will use our vote in parliament to press the government to implement changes to our food regulations that put Tasmanian needs first.”

Ms Bennett believes that the government should also be doing more to protect Tasmanian farmers from extremism. 

“Our farmers are the lifeblood of Tasmania. If elected, we will be using our vote in parliament to ensure farmers can go about their daily business free from interference. We believe that farm invasions and threats to farmers’ safety need to be treated as the serious crimes that they are and will be pressing the government to implement safe-guards for our farmers and primary producers.” 

The last pillar of SFF Tasmania’s election campaign centres around access to public land. 

“We have a Travel Bubble opening up later this month. It will be interesting to see what the government will do to entice Kiwis across the ditch.” 

New Zealand is world-famous for both its pristine landscape and its adventure sports. People travel from all over the world to hunt, fish, canoe, hike, camp, cycle and take part in high-octane adrenaline sports. 

Meanwhile, in Tasmania, the Greens have spent the better part of two decades locking Tasmanians out of their public lands. Unless the government stops kowtowing to the Greens, the Travel Bubble Traffic is likely to flow one-way only.

“If elected, SFF Tasmania will use our vote to ensure all Tasmanians have a right to enjoy public lands. The government needs to be reminded that public land is just that – public – it belongs to the people. As public servants, the government’s role is simply to hold the land in trust for all to enjoy.”

If you would like to see common-sense return to politics, vote 1 for SFF Tasmania this election.