Andrew Constance, until recently the State Member for Bega and Minister for Transport, is to be the Liberal candidate for Gilmore in this year’s Federal election, after the other candidates for pre-selection withdrew.

While he was encouraged to run by the Prime Minister, his style and progressive views are a strong contrast to Mr Morrison.

After over 18 years in State Parliament, he has been attracted to the Federal sphere because of his determination to do more on climate change and his belief in the benefits of a more collaborative approach in politics.

“It could’ve been easier to walk away from politics, but I feel experience and different thinking is what is required at the moment,” he says.

“I’m someone who can be very independent of the thinking of the government’s leadership. I don’t mind stating what I think, and I will do it without hesitation in the interest of the community. Toeing party lines is not something that I’m into.

“I’m not going to argue whether climate change is real or not, because that is expended energy.

“Our planet is changing and we are not adapting fast enough.

“Building and delivering on local infrastructure and other support for our communities from here to Tuross Heads is one thing. But I really do want to try and do something special in this role, and to do this I think our politics has got to change.

“We spend too much energy arguing and too much energy on partisan politics and not enough on bi-partisanship.”

Mr Constance was an empathetic advocate during the Black Summer disaster and has championed the recovery

On this front, he hopes to use his experience in helping to negotiate the introduction of the NDIS.

“As Disability Services Minister, I worked closely with people like [Labor’s] John Della Bosca, Jenny Macklin and Julia Gillard to bring about a very big social reform. I think we should learn from that process and apply it more broadly.

“Regardless of someone’s view on climate change, everyone’s going to benefit from innovation that is coming about.”

While not interested in a ministerial position “anytime soon”, he is confident that with his experience he can be a force within the Liberal Party on climate change, saying he has already influenced policy.

Having represented the southern third of the electorate for almost 20 years, Mr Constance recently moved up to this end of Gilmore to live in Broughton Vale in the lead up to the election, which he believes will be in May.

“People are going to see a lot of me over the next four months,” he says, noting he already knows the area and its issues well through family connections and his ministerial role.

“I’ve been behind some of the biggest decisions in government in terms of infrastructure in the region, including the Albion Park bypass, Berry to Bomaderry, bridges at Nowra and Batemans Bay, and the duplication of the Princes Highway.

“And having sat on the Government’s Expenditure Review Committee for five years, I was involved in a lot of decision making around other infrastructure for the region.”

The former Transport Minister with the former Premier, whose resignation triggered his departure from State politics

Mr Constance says that given what the community has gone through over the past couple of years, it is not time for politics as usual in the campaign for this election.

“I’m not going to be engaging in the rough and tumble of campaign politics with Fiona Phillips [the sitting Labor member who holds Gilmore by three per cent].

“I will just run my own race – allowing people to get to know me and understand the direction that I will take.

“The election campaign has to be a positive thing for our community, because people are really turned off by it [politics], particularly as they’ve been in survival mode for so long.

“We’ve got some pretty big challenges to tackle and we’ve got to turn those challenges into wonderful opportunities, which we can.”

Having championed the region through the Black Summer fires, he feels there is a lot to be taken from the experience on many levels.

“I learnt a lot about human spirit and the incredible unity that comes across the community when you’re in survival and recovery mode. There’s a lot to be said for it and a lot to be built on.

“I want to reach out to those who wouldn’t normally vote Liberal. I want to try and connect with people above and beyond the usual base that might exist within the political environment.

“We have a real need for strong leadership and advocacy for our region in Canberra.”

He sees a great deal of opportunity for the Government to encourage innovation and new industries, citing the flow-on from starting the transition of buses from diesel to electric when he was Transport Minister.

“By merely starting that process, we’ve now got a company in NSW which delivers an electric bus 30% more efficient than anything out of China or anything out of Europe. This is an example of our innovators, designers and manufacturers working together to deliver a real benefit, and it has created 400 jobs.”

He has no doubt that business is miles ahead of government in terms of delivering change.

“I think the community is right to expect that we get the public policy settings right, so that we maintain jobs growth and keep down the cost of living.

“We should be doing everything possible to be supporting our industry leaders and learning from experiences around the world.”

Mr Constance believes the Federal Government needs to back the states in their efforts to make changes to improve sustainability in the agriculture, transport and energy sectors.

As for Gilmore itself, Mr Constance says, “I have a very significant passion ensuring that our region becomes the envy of Australia.

“We’ve got such a wonderful foundation to work on – we have to look at our strengths and see how we can build on them.

“The overall economy has some very obvious deficiencies that need to be rectified and that requires smart Federal/State investment.”

He’s keen to learn more about what the community needs and keep the communication open.

“I will do my advocacies in the same way I’ve done them for Bega, over the last 20 yrs. It is a case of being at every meeting and being part of the community, not dictating to the community.”