A lively Meet the Candidates forum

The candidates are running for Goulburn in the NSW election in March. 

Thrashing it out were Labor's Dr Ursula Stephens, Liberal Wendy Tuckerman, Shooters Fishers and Farmers Andy Wood and One Nation's Richard Orchard. There were two stand-ins - John Storey for Dr Saan Ecker (Greens) and Heather Edwards for the Animal Justice Party (AJP) for Tracey Keenan. 

Despite a direct question, no one is any clearer on is who is preferencing who, except maybe Andy Wood, who was told on the night by Richard Orchard that One Nation is listing the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers as number two and vice versa. 

Mr Wood emphasized his party's priorities as health, education, water infrastructure, drought relief, rail, infrastructure and agriculture. He said the State Government had neglected the bush. 

"The recent election campaign has been a case of bread and circuses," he said. 

"There needs to be standard ratios in hospitals of one nurse to four patients. There are no promises of this happening," he said. 

"You have to live in Moss Vale to get regular trains and bus services to Canberra were sabotaged by the State Government. I am also appalled at the water situation in Boorowa, Yass and Marulan." 

Mr Orchard said the region had been neglected for the last 12 years, citing Yass and Boorowa's water situations and Crookwell Hospital as examples. 

Mr Orchard said he was not a career politician and he reminded people of corruption under the previous State Labor Government with politicians like Eddie Obeid and Ian MacDonald. 

"We don't need any more of that," he said. 

Dr Ursula Stephens said she wanted to "put people first" and her priorities were putting "schools and hospitals over stadiums."

"I have been a local and a member of the ALP for 40 years," she said. 

Speaking of previous Labor corruption, she said she was "not a fan of those years - but that it was a generation ago."

"The Liberals have sold off everything, but the Land Title Office was the last straw - now it is difficult to get information out of them."

She emphasized Country Labor's positive policies such as rebuilding TAFE with 6000,000 places for certificate level to fill skill shortages.

"The closure of the Coles Distribution Centre will affect 250 local families. It is a $25 million hit to the economy."

The Green's John Storey said his party was all about grassroots democracy and listed health, transport, education, youth services and the environment as their priorities. 

"We need to restore funding to TAFE and schools. The sell-off of public assets has been disastrous," he said.

"We aim to returns services to public ownership where they can create most benefit for all. The Justice system needs to focus on rehabilitation and we need to build more social housing.

"We have comprehensive policies on the environment and we must reverse the archaic stance of our current government on climate and coal. Renewable energy is cheaper and cleaner and creates jobs. A vote for the Greens is a vote the future."

The Liberal's Wendy Tuckerman said the State Government had delivered a strong economy and good outcomes for education and health in the region.

She said the State Government had spent a lot on infrastructure in the regions.

"Over 80 new businesses have opened up in Goulburn in the last 12 months," she said. 

"Over 234 TAFE teachers have been employed across in NSW in last 12 months and 1000 new police officers are touted, with six intakes in the next year and subsequent next four years - that is huge for the local economy.

"I am from a local government background. I remember what it was like when Labor was in power, we as rural communities saw no infrastructure, no job creation. We have short memories of what Labor can do. I will continue to fight for expenditure in this region as we have seen." 

Heather Edwards said the Animal Justice Party was all about protecting animals, humans and the environment.  In all things, they abide by the principles of K.E.R.N - kindness, equality, rationality and non-violence.

Some curly questions were thrown from the floor and Facebook to the candidates at Monday night's forum. 

One Nation candidate Richard Orchard was asked whether his party was racist and homophobic?

"Guess who is the biggest homosexual out here on this bench - it’s me. That’s how homophobic we are," Mr Orchard replied. 

"None of our policies suggests we are racist. We have the policy to have sustainable immigration because we believe that adding a city the size of Canberra to Melbourne and Sydney every two years is unsustainable - is that a racist policy or is it just stating the bleeding obvious?"

He was also asked, "aren't you just a Liberal hiding under the One Nation banner?"

Mr Orchard said "no", but the local Liberal party "has disintegrated spectacularly" in Gilmore and in Goulburn because of interference in pre-selection processes. 

Wendy Tuckerman was asked why it took the state Liberal Party 12 years to offer to sort out Yass' water situation and why constituents of Yass Valley should trust the Liberals to get this done after a decade of inaction? 

She shifted the blame onto the previous State Labor Government. 

"Water issues are the responsibility of councils. A previous Liberal Government had the Country Towns Water Supply and Sewerage Scheme, but the most recent Labor Government took the funding away," she said. 

"Councils could not apply for funding for 16 years and that infrastructure backlog grew.

"Since 2010, the Safe and Secure Water Fund was implemented by the Liberal Government and councils were able to apply for funding to start to get their infrastructure backlog cleared.

"We delivered for Yass and have been working on Boorowa's water situation for five years. It's a $40million project. It can't be done overnight."

Ms Tuckerman was asked to list the street names in Goulburn's CBD. She could not. She asked the question poser whether he could list the street names in Boorowa. He could not. 

At the Meet The Candidates Forum on  Monday, Dr Ursula Stephens was asked about her interest in bringing a new jail to Goulburn. 

She said she had "no personal interest" in bringing a jail here, but that if one did come here it would create jobs and training opportunities for the community. In front of the crowd, she outlined the chronology.

"In 2007, there was a Cabinet meeting in Griffith where representatives of the Department of Premier and Cabinet raised the issue of a new prison to be built in NSW and asked some consultants that I knew and had worked with in the past whether they could locate jail in rural NSW," Dr Stephens said.

"This jail had been proposed for Picton in 2015, but the Member for Wollondilly Jai Rowell said 'over my dead body'. 

"The Department of Justice said they needed a new prison - so the hunt was on. 

"Consultants came here and asked Goulburn Mulwaree Council about space and the council agreed that Goulburn had a justice focus. The proposal considered was an unsolicited proposal requested by the Premier's office but was rejected. 

"Then Gareth Ward MP announced out of the blue that a prison was to be built in Dapto and that community also said no. 

"At this point I said we should have this prison here - that it will create jobs and opportunities and link in with the NSW Police Academy and Goulburn Jail. We can create as a justice precinct here - that is my interest."