I’ve lived on the Peninsula for the last 18 years and my family has owned property in the area for three generations. This is the community that I have chosen to raise my family, earn a living and see grow and prosper.

In 1995 I started the Mainstreet Program in Ettalong Beach after a community meeting of local residents and businesses. The town was in decline, crime was ever present and civic pride was deminishing.

Those of you who remember Ettalong Beach back then can see how the Ettalong community has changed, become safer and prospered these last four years. This was achieved through a partnership between the community, business and local government.

This is a valuable lesson that I have learnt over the last five years. I also learnt that there are many good and hardworking people in our community from all walks of life and of all political persuasions.

Each had a common goal which I shared ... to see the local community come together, progress and prosper.

However, it was with considerable regret that the process was not encouraged at State Government level.

It was obvious that many of the basic things in our community such as law and order, youth facilities, services for the elderly, roads and capital infrastructure were sadly lacking through lack of adequate representation in the State Parliament.

It was for these reasons and my belief that the community wanted something better that I chose to enter the political arena as the Liberal Candidate for the Seat of Peats. I was encouraged by many in the community who felt that they required someone with drive, determination and a proven track record of achievement.

I believe that I possess these qualities and the ability to make a difference in our local community.

Our community is made up of a diverse range of people from all age groups, walks of life and cultural backgrounds. All have special needs but share some common concerns.

Over the last 6 months it has become obvious from our senior citizens that have spoken to me that one of the major issues on the Peninsula is the lack of police numbers and police resources. They like many others do not feel safe any more.

From personal experience, we don’t feel safe in our own homes, our elderly cannot leave their doors open during the day much less at night, our town streets are unsafe and crime is on the increase from petty theft to armed holdups.

Unfortunately, despite what is claimed by the current State Government, the reduction in police numbers on the Peninsula and the steady erosion of services and resources has left all of us at risk over the last four years.

We have no detectives at Woy Woy Police Station, response times are inadequate because our police are under resourced and under staffed, services have been centralised at Gosford to the detriment of the Peninsula. We have few if any police on the beat and our so called "police shop front" at Umina Beach is completely unmanned.

A Coalition Government is committed to reversing and rectifying the erosion of these services.

Over the next four years, a Coalition Government will provide 2,500 extra police across the State including the Peninsula, put the detectives back at Woy Woy Police Station where they should always have been, put police back on the streets including our town centres of Umina Beach, Ettalong Beach and Woy Woy and provide a regular police presence at the Umina Police "shop front" so that it becomes a real police station ... not a "Claytons" police station.

Many younger members of the community with families have also approached me with their concerns for their children.

Like them, I have two teenagers growing up in the area and I hold similar concerns as to their future.

That is why I have taken such a pro-active role as founding member of the Peninsula Community Forum (which was responsible for saving The Web Youth Drop In Centre) and a member of the Management Committee for the Police Citizens Youth Club (PCYC) at Umina Beach. Both the PCYC and The Web have my full support.

A Coalition Government has committed to an additional $50,000 each year to The Web to support its tireless youth worker Dion Richardson and his staff. I will also be a strong advocate for the PCYC which is vital to providing a range of youth services on the Peninsula.

The current State Government has been lazy in both these areas. Over 6 months of delays in funding for The Web by the current State Government almost brought the youth facility to a close except for the intervention of the Peninsula Community Forum and the generosity of businesses, Council and service clubs.

And after nearly four months of inactivity by the Local Member in resolving issues at the PCYC, its opening has been delayed for months.

Yet others in our community have raised concerns about the proposed Woy Woy TAFE site at south Woy Woy.

We all remember when the current State Government recently sold the site and promised that the proceeds would be put back into education on the Peninsula.

To date we have seen no practical benefit from those proceeds and just to add insult to injury, the local community has foregone a modern educational facility for our young people.

These are but three of the major issues we face on the Peninsula. However, they are closely linked.

With strong community based activities for our youth, decent education facilities and a fully resourced police service, many of the problems facing both our senior citizens and our younger community will gradually be resolved.

Just as with the small town of Ettalong Beach, this will only occur if we have a true community partnership.

This what I believe and this is what I want to bring to local politics as your Liberal Candidate. Because, if we fail to work together as a close knit community, we will miss the wonderful opportunities that lay ahead of us in the next millennia.