About Steve
I am a passionate conservative who believes in the rights and responsibilities of individuals.
I grew up on a cattle farm in rural Queensland and studied veterinary science in Brisbane at the University of Queensland.
In 1989 I moved to Donnybrook in the South West of Western Australia to work in a vet practice, and in 1991 I started my own business in Donnybrook which I called the Animal Health Centre.
Starting as a single vet practice on a shoestring budget, I built it into a three vet practice by the time I sold it in 2006. In the early years my business was around 70% cattle work, with the rest mainly involving horses, dogs, cats. There was however the usual smattering of natives and exotics, including llamas, alpacas, camels, water buffalo and deer.
By the time the practice was sold in 2006 the nature of the community and therefore the work of the business had changed. Many of the large farms had been broken down into smaller units, and large scale production gave way to lifestyle choices.
There were no dairy farms left in the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup by 2006, and beef production had declined.
But the population had grown, and the number of pets had boomed, so the business I had which started at 70% cattle work had shifted to 70% pets when I sold it.
My Early Life
In the 1990s an interesting thing happened. The Court Government put local health boards in place to oversee local hospitals, and as someone with loads of medical knowledge but no vested interest (humans are the wrong species for me) I volunteered.
The first decision given to the board by the regional bureaucrats was their desire to evict three of the six nursing home type patients from Donnybrook District Hospital because we apparently could not afford to keep them there. These were the old patients effectively using the hospital as a nursing home before they passed away.
I was not going to rubber stamp that without proof it was necessary, so I demanded a business case to prove it was necessary. What I got back was nonsense, and I proved that business case wrong immediately.
Over the next year however, the Regional Manager and Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board kept demanding we agree to this action. I kept refusing to agree, and to be honest made a lot of noise fighting it, so much so that the Board functioned poorly so a number of “facilitators” were sent in by the Health Department.
After about eight months I had had enough! I made an appointment with the then Commissioner for Health in Perth and told him it was my fault the Board could not function. I gave him his Regional Manager’s supposed business case, and my simple demonstration that it was rubbish, and told him to work out which was right, and which was wrong. I committed that if he could prove me wrong, I would resign from the Board and apologise to everybody involved.
At the next meeting of the Board the Commissioner’s representative and the Regional Manager stood to acknowledge that I was correct and the Regional Manager’s case was not. It was a massive vindication after a year and a half being attacked and belittled, and it demonstrated how hard you have to fight sometimes to get the right outcome, especially when you are battling the bureaucracy!
The Donnybrook District Hospital kept supporting six nursing home type patients!
And during my fight to keep them, I got exposed to the political process.
My Introduction to Politics
Having had a taste of the battle, I started showing an interest in politics and political parties.
My first foray was to call the state director of the Liberal Party at the time – a nice man called Peter – and ask to join.
He was delighted and said the local branch president would be in touch.
Unfortunately, the local branch president was a client of a different veterinary practice (one that didn’t like my presence) so no approach came.
I got back to Peter, and asked to be put in a different branch and was again told a different branch president would call me.
Sadly, this second branch president was a client of the same vet practice, and the result was the same.
Not long after I met the local state MP at the Donnybrook Apple Festival. They were a member of the National Party, and when I said I had struggled to join the Liberal Party they got me to join the Nationals.
I lasted a few years with the Nationals, but I am a conservative at heart, and my natural allegiance was with the Liberal Party. So, by the late nineties there was a change in local leadership, and I was embraced by the Donnybrook Branch of the Liberal Party.
It is interesting that when I sold by business fifteen years later, I was a member of the Liberal Party and the local state MP, and the other vet practice was out of business.
In 2001 I stood as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the seat of Collie, which is a tough seat for Liberals. We had not run in the election before, but the result was solid. You can see them on the WA Electoral Commission at State Elections | Western Australian Electoral Commission.
For the next election in 2005 a new seat was created called Capel, and I was elected to the Legislative Assembly as the first ever Member for Capel.
The first piece of legislation we debated however was Labor’s one-vote-one-value legislation, which took eight country seats and moved them to Perth. One of those was Capel.
So, I was the first, the last and the only Member for Capel in the Western Australian Parliament.
In the 2008 election, with no seat I took the only remaining option and once again stood for the Liberal Party in Collie in the seat of Collie-Preston. I started 1% behind from the redistribution and finished 1% at the election.
It took me another eight years to return to the Western Australian Parliament, this time in the Upper House or Legislative Council in 2017.
My Political Journey
I am a conservative.
But what does it mean to be a conservative?
How often have you seen someone in politics asked what it means to be in the party they chose or why they are in a particular end of the political spectrum?
I have watched many who claim to be conservative struggle to explain what that means.
So, I want to let you know that it means to me.
Individual Responsibility
As a conservative, I firmly believe in individual responsibility. Whether it's in the workplace or in personal matters, I emphasise the importance of holding oneself accountable for one's actions and outcomes.
Recognising Communal Responsiblity
I distinguish conservative principles by highlighting the value we place on communal responsibility. While individuals are accountable for their actions, we also acknowledge the importance of collective obligations within society.
Upholding Individual Rights
I advocate strongly for the protection of individual rights. It's crucial to me that each person's freedoms and liberties are safeguarded against infringement.
Defending Individual Rights
I prioritise the protection of individual rights, contrasting them with the socialist notion of communal entitlements. Upholding personal freedoms is paramount to me, even amidst societal pressures for collective welfare.
Embracing Individual Rewards
In my view, individuals who work hard or establish businesses deserve to enjoy the fruits of their labor. I contrast this with socialist ideologies that promote communal sharing of rewards, irrespective of individual effort.
Rejecting Shared Communal Rewards
I contrast the conservative belief in individual rewards with the socialist idea of shared communal rewards. I firmly support the notion that rewards should be earned through personal merit and effort.
The Liberal Party of Western Australia Believes In:
ln Australia, its people and its future.
ln the innate worth of the individual, in the right to be independent, to own property and to achieve, and in the need to encourage initiative and personal responsibility.
ln the basic freedoms of thought, worship, speech, association and choice.
ln equality of opportunity, with all Australians having the opportunity to reach their full potential in a tolerant national community.
ln a just and humane society, where those who cannot provide for themselves can live in dignity.
In the family as the primary institution for fostering the values on which a cohesive society is built.
ln the creation of wealth and in competitive enterprise, consumer choice and reward for effort as the Proven means of providing prosperity for all Australians.
ln the principle of mutual obligation, whereby those in receipt of government benefits make some form of contribution to the community in return, where this is appropriate.
ln the importance of voluntary effort and voluntary organisations.
ln parliamentary democracy as the best system for the expression and fulfilment of the aspirations of a free people.
ln the separation and distribution of powers as the best protection for the democratic process.
ln a federal system of government and the decentralisation of power, with local decisions being made at the local level.
ln a constitutional head of state as a symbol of unity and continuity.
In Government being sufficiently responsive so that it can meet its proper obligations to its citizens.
ln Government keeping to its core business and not competing with the private sector.
ln the rule of law and justice, giving all citizens equal rights under the law, responsibilities to maintain it, and the freedom to change it.
In Australia playing a constructive role in the pursuit and maintenance of international peace in alliance with other free nations and in assisting Iess advantaged peoples.
ln Liberalism, with its emphasis on the individual and enterprise, as the political philosophy best able to meet the demands and challenges of the 2lst century.