People living in Casey love spending time in the bush – walking, camping, bird watching, 4WD driving, citizen science, boating/kayaking, meditation, swimming, camp fires, enjoying time with family and friends. Time in the bush is my happy place.

If elected as the Independent MP for Casey I pledge to take these policies to Parliament:

• I will engage with the State Government to better understand current strategic planning for management of our State and Regional forests and parks in Casey.
• I will schedule a public town hall meeting inviting all residents of Casey to share their views on what success looks like for management of and access to our State and Regional forests and parks in Casey, balancing recreation and conservation.

People have told me their concerns about ‘locking up the bush’ and asked about my views on the proposed Great Forest National Park. National Parks do not lock up the bush, they have public access and seek to get the balance right between recreation and conservation.

Management of our beautiful natural places for today and for future generations is about respect. I live by the principle ‘take only memories, leave only footprints'.

What does respect for our bush and forests look like? Respect is ‘leave no trace.’ Yet we see all too often disrespect - dumped rubbish (burnt out cars, asbestos, tyres), driving off tracks destroying vegetation, destroying gates, not taking rubbish home, driving around closed road barriers, stealing and destroying property (gates, fencing). Respect is also recognising that some areas of the bush are undisturbed and untouched, our most special conservation areas and these areas must continue to have no public access.

Every person in Casey who enjoys spending time in our National, State, Regional and local forests and parks is a guardian of the bush, caring for each place they visit and leaving no trace until they return again.