The second part of The Advocate's extended chat with newly elected Braddon Independent Craig Garland. He speaks more about some of the important matters he'll be facing when in parliament.
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00:00 How are you feeling since being elected into Parliament?
00:03 A bit buggered at the moment actually.
00:05 Yeah, there's been a lot of conversations, the phone never stops ringing.
00:09 And I'm stepping into an area I've never been before, so
00:13 I'm totally reliant on people helping me and
00:15 so far I've got a lot of people that have offered support
00:18 within the political system and outside it.
00:21 So yeah, it's a bit daunting at the moment but I'll be alright.
00:24 It's like anything new, you know, you don't know what you're facing
00:27 and your head sometimes gets a whir with you.
00:30 But yeah, I'm pretty happy with how everything's going.
00:34 I could do with a bit more sleep but anyway.
00:36 You attended an anti-stadium rally.
00:39 Yes.
00:40 But since then, with the team having been launched and the AFL saying
00:44 the stadium is essential, are you open to supporting this stadium?
00:48 Where do you stand on that?
00:49 Not what they're putting forward.
00:51 You know, to me, we've got nine billion in debt.
00:55 You know, no one's talking, and Saul Eslake was right,
00:58 no one was talking about that.
00:59 They're throwing out promises and more cash and refusing,
01:03 well, not dealing with this nine billion debt.
01:05 We have perfectly good stadiums in the state already and as a
01:09 Northwest coaster, basing that in Hobart just prices anyone out of
01:15 being able to go along.
01:16 To have to drive to Hobart, get accommodation and all the rest of it,
01:19 we won't be able to do that here.
01:21 Not only that, any young talent that is showing a bit of promise,
01:26 it's only an hour and a half, two hour drive from here to go to
01:28 Launceston.
01:29 It's central.
01:31 There's a whole range of businesses that are reliant on that stadium
01:35 in Launceston right now.
01:36 When I was playing footy, I played at the top level in this state,
01:39 back in the '80s and '90s.
01:41 All those shops alongside York Park there were either empty or they
01:44 were just, you know, a two-bit burger joint.
01:47 You go there now and there's a whole range of businesses that are
01:50 thriving.
01:51 You know, you pluck it out of there and take it down south.
01:54 They lose, we lose, we can't afford it.
01:57 So to me, at this point in time, the AFL are the ones in this that
02:02 should be - the focus should be on them, not on our Premier.
02:06 He wanted to deliver a side to the state and I understand, you know,
02:10 the - where he was coming from.
02:14 But the AFL is imposing on us a huge burden, which they haven't done
02:20 on anywhere else in Australia.
02:21 And if anyone deserves a side more than anywhere else, it's Tasmania.
02:25 We produce the best footballer in the country - Darryl Baldock,
02:28 Royce Hart, the Gale brothers, you know.
02:31 The list goes on, what we've given to them, and they've not given
02:34 anything back substantially.
02:36 And they don't want us to have a team.
02:38 That's what's quite clear out of all these conditions and all the
02:41 stalling over the last 20 years for us to get a side.
02:44 They don't want us to have one.
02:46 So that's where I'd be putting the pressure on, telling the AFL to,
02:49 you know, lift their game.
02:51 You know, we have the stadiums and if they keep going the way they are -
02:54 we had two football clubs fold a couple of weeks ago.
02:57 You know, it's a bit like me getting a bigger boat because I can't
03:00 catch any fish.
03:01 It's not going to guarantee a good quality side or, you know,
03:05 it's just not right.
03:07 So...
03:08 But where do you stand on the environmental movement's push for a
03:11 Tarkine National Park?
03:13 Well, I was asked that question and they were by the Bob Brown
03:16 Foundation, you know.
03:18 I attended...I've attended all their meetings and that's what got me in,
03:20 their preferences.
03:21 So I'm extremely grateful.
03:22 But when they asked me that question, I thought, "Yeah, right, OK.
03:28 I've got no problems with national parks as long as we don't get priced
03:31 out or locked out in the process."
03:32 Look what's happened to Cradle Mountain.
03:34 It's become a playground for the middle class, well-heeled, and boom
03:38 gates and all the rest of it.
03:40 And also, more importantly, giving it back to the TAC, the ancestors of
03:46 the TAC people were the enemies of the Northwest Tribe.
03:51 They were their traditional enemies.
03:52 They don't have any stake.
03:55 It's more or less implying that they had ownership and they didn't.
03:58 And in fact, they helped round up, their ancestors helped round up the last
04:03 remaining Aboriginals in this area.
04:05 So we're sick of division.
04:09 My black Aboriginal mates, my brothers as I call them, we're sick of it.
04:13 We're sick of being - they're sick of being treated differently.
04:16 We just want to be treated the same.
04:17 So, yeah, if you're going to protect the place, yeah, but don't lock us out and
04:20 don't hand it over to somebody that it never belonged to.
04:24 That area is extremely rich.
04:29 And also, I've spent a lot of time in it.
04:31 And some of the things that have happened to me out there, I'd protect it in a
04:35 heartbeat, but not if we're going to be locked out again.
04:41 Do you support recreational areas like Arthur Pena?
04:45 Yeah, my word.
04:46 It's a big part of our culture.
04:48 It's how we've grown up, you know.
04:51 We camp together.
04:52 We share what we catch and eat together.
04:54 We drink together and we play together.
04:56 And it's already caused divisions with what's happened down there with us being
05:03 locked out and them and people controlling that.
05:06 So, Circulate Aboriginal Corporation is more than capable of managing for the
05:12 community's best interests in that area.
05:14 So, I support them fully in what they're trying to do.
05:17 On social issues, do you support the proposed ban on gay conversion therapy?
05:23 Yeah, I'm not supporting that at all.
05:27 I think it's - I know people have been through it and I've had various
05:33 discussions with others that oppose it and with most things that don't affect me
05:38 personally or I don't have a personal involvement and I talk to the people that
05:42 do and yeah, they're against it.
05:45 So, you're for the proposed ban?
05:48 Yes, yes.
05:49 Your supporters have said don't change who you are and that you're not the guy
05:55 who wears a suit.
05:56 So, talking about what you wear, have you thought about what you're going to go
06:02 dressed in for the part?
06:04 Oh, it won't be flashy.
06:06 I may or may not wear a suit just out of respect for what I'm entering into but
06:13 that might be on the swearing in and whatever but after that I'll be just
06:16 dressing comfortably, who I am and that's what everyone's - they voted me in on
06:22 who I am and how I look and what I wear.
06:24 So, I certainly won't be changing.
06:28 What do you think you'll find the most challenging about your new role?
06:33 Just the initial start up and the processes involved and I've no problem with
06:39 negotiating and getting on with all people.
06:44 Just that initial three or four first months to get my head around what's
06:50 happening and what I have to do and what I can't do.
06:54 That's all.
06:55 As far as making a decision or going over legislation, that's really easy
06:59 because you've got 34 other people there doing the same thing so you'll be
07:02 consulting with them.
07:03 Rosie's pretty rough.
07:04 I was left a message there.
07:06 I've been talking to MLCs, quite a few Liberal people have offered support.
07:11 Rean Hitting, I've sat with him on an advisory council for a couple of years
07:15 so he's offered to give me a hand and guide me through.
07:19 So that makes things much easier for me and eases my mind about that side of it.
07:28 And it was just like on the waterfront.
07:29 There were people there that had the skills and knowledge and that's who I
07:32 learnt off.
07:33 So we'll see what happens.
07:36 Thank you.
07:37 Thank you.
07:37 [BLANK_AUDIO]