Warren Snowdon
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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY
Age: 63
Hometown: Alice Springs
What will you do for Katherine, and the region if elected?
I’ve been visiting Katherine since the 1970s.
The regions are the heart of the Territory and Katherine is one of our most important regional centres.
Katherine plays an important part in the tourism, pastoralist, mining and service industries in the Northern Territory.
I am a proud supporter of Katherine.
I want to see the region grow into a stronger, smarter and healthier Katherine community into the future.
Labor will continue to support the people of Katherine and the region, investing in schools, health, and roads to build community infrastructure and services.
What are your key policies?
We’re committed to improving health and education, and delivering better services to Katherine and communities in our region.
A Labor Government will deliver the National Broadband Network directly to homes and businesses in Katherine.
I will fight hard to deliver Kevin Rudd’s Better Schools Plan to ensure extra resources for our local schools.
Students in the Territory shouldn’t be disadvantaged because the Giles Government refuses to sign up to a deal to give Territory schools an extra $300 million in federal funding.
Katherine schools would benefit under Labor's plan, delivering more than $2.8 million in extra funding to Katherine High School and $1.4 million to Clyde Fenton Primary school.
The CLP Government is also blocking the delivery of short term patient accommodation in Katherine, by refusing to commit to provide operational funding.
This is putting pressure on patients in the bush who travel to Katherine for treatment.
How do you plan to create opportunities for economic development in Katherine and the region?
Katherine is a central hub for our region. And a large number of Territorians rely on the town to access services like health, education and support for industry.
Defence is a large local employer with many Defence families settling in the community.
Over the past 12 months $34 million has been spent upgrading more than 120 Defence homes at RAAF Base Tindal, providing local jobs and boosting the economy.
Another 60 will be upgraded next year.
Labor is committed to spending $1.5 million on a new skills training centre at the Charles Darwin University in Katherine, helping remote students get health training in aged care, oral health and community services.
But while the Federal Government is investing in another 200 teachers to bush schools, the NT CLP Government is cutting education spending and jobs.
What is your stance on the live cattle export industry?
I have always supported the live cattle industry whole-heartedly, I continue to support it.
The live cattle export industry contributes about $1 billion a year to Australia’s economy and directly employs 1,800 Territorians, many in the Katherine region.
I am also supportive of the development of the meatworks near Noonamah, it will provide more opportunities and open up new trading markets for Territory grown meat.
I am certain that the cattle export industry will continue to grow and prosper, we have recently seen import quotas increased by Indonesia, and this is a good sign of things to come.