Election candidate roundup for Goldstein: Naren Chellappah , AnimalJustice Party.

Righty oh . So I eventually tracked down some candidates from the lists that are available : there are 6 candidates standing for Goldtstein (the electorate where I live.)

I've reached out via email to the people that get no airtime from the media, probably because they don't have the same budget as the big parties . Which is weird, because I could have sworn I lived in a democratic country with an independent media ... But never mind. 

Below is the responses of Naren , from the  Animal Justice Party. 

Naren's profile on the ABC's  website : http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2016/guide/gold/

What are your parties policies in supporting small local businesses to expand interstate, and internationally. 

I am a small business owner myself Stephanie. My office is in Elsternwick and I employ three people. I'm in support of policies to help small businesses grow.

What is your personal stance on tax incentives to promote local employment and grow business opportunities. 

See above.

What is your personal stance on refugees and asylum seekers. 

We need to tread all sentient beings with kindness, compassion, equality and non-violence. These are core Animal Justice Party values.

What will your party do on the Marriage Equality issue. 

See above - equality is one of our core values.

What is your personal view on Marriage equality and the LGBTQI community. 

Equality to all Stephanie!

Assuming for a moment that we do go a referendum/ plebiscite , how would you vote on the marriage equality issue 

I am pro equality - especially when it comes to animals.

What are your party's policies on making it easy for tech startups in Australia to innovate and compete internationally. 

I started by business from scratch. I support policies to help starts up innovate and prosper. 

What is your position on Rhino horn , poaching and the demand for Rhino horn in Vietnam 

As a candidate for the Animal Justice Party I am against this 100%. It's horrible, vile and those who engage in poaching should be prosecuted. 

What will your party do to tackle the demand for Rhino Horn with the Vietnamese government. 

If elected I will work closely with my counterparts in the Australian and Vietnamese parliament to introduce policies and legislation to ban this poaching and Rhino Horn trade. This will take time and strategic negotiations to ensure a positive outcome for this precious species. We are the only party with a genuine interest in animal welfare so please consider voting for us if you want issues like poaching, live export, live baiting, culling and slaughter of our wildlife and factory farming to end. 

My commentary : 

I think Naren definitely has a future in politics - he sidesteps the specifics of the first 2 direct questions with ease, and give a broad general answer, probably because his party doesn't have a policy about small business that does not relate to animals or the killing thereof. 

I must admit to not being very impressed with the general answers he gave to the first question. I do however have to give him credit for at least giving an answer that was related to the question and not doing a typical bait and switch like the mainstream politicians. 

He is far more clear and direct on the issue of the LGBTQI community , the refugee issue and the poaching of Rhino Horn, and does commit to tackling the demand issue with the Vietnamese government ( where the demand for the horn is highest ) . I can tell he didn't know that poaching doesn't actually happen in Vietnam, but that's ok , he's says all the right things about tackling the issue with the Vietnamese government. 

My verdict : he is worth a preference vote if you're an animal lover and care about the refugee issue from a human point of view, but he probably wouldn't  be your first choice unless you're already a vegan, or thinking about it . 

One of the core policies of this party is to turn the entire country vegan. Nope, I am not kidding , it's on their website that they want to move the whole country over to a plant based diet eventually. 

Also very confusing is the completely different looking main website for the national AJP and the Victorian branch. You would think they would at least have the same colours and fonts across all their websites for consistency . I initially thought I had stumbled across 2 different parties , but it turns out they are in fact the same party, they just have different ideas about their websites. 

And that's the wrap on Naren. 

Not sure who the next post will be about, as it will depend on who answers my email back ( if at all).