Bringing ‘common sense’ back to politics focus of endorsed Liberals’ candidate for Warren-Blackwood

The Liberal Party has announced its candidate for the Warren Blackwood seat in next year’s State election, with Pemberton farmer and Manjimup councillor Wade De Campo putting his hat in the ring for the coveted South West position. Mr De Campo was announced as the Liberals’ candidate for the South West electorate, and currently sits as a councillor for the Shire of Manjimup and is a former shire president. Despite only going public with his endorsement on Saturday, Mr De Campo said he had already been busy. “It’s a slow start, but I visited Augusta, Margaret River and Cowaramup on Sunday, and we pre-selected and endorsed a selection of candidates (on Saturday),” he said. Mr De Campo told the Times there would be “a number of policy announcements” to come, and although he did not specify any particaulr policies, he outlined his areas of concern. “Obviously Margaret River has had a population explosion, so we’ll make plans for the high school, the hospital and future growth of Margaret River,” he said. “Bridgetown and Boyup Brook seem to be suffering significantly with the live export ban, so we’ll be working with Keep The Sheep, highlighting that and trying to overthrow some Labor members in Western Australia. “Manjimup and Pemberton are transitioning through the timber transition phase, and it could be said that the transition package hasn’t given economic benefit to the region yet, so we’ll be looking at ways to bolster that industry in the future. “Water regulation and security is a massive issue, so we’ll be front and centre in helping the State with that and have the Liberal Party develop the policy for that.” Mr De Campo said removing “unnecessary rules and regulations” and “red and green tape” for smaller businesses was also a top priority for him. He said his time as a councillor had seen concerns raised with him he now wanted to be able to better target on a State level. “I’m backing a return to common sense decision making where farmers, small businesses and rural communities are put first in policy decisions,” Mr De Campo said. “The council is a decision making body for the Shire of Manjimup, which revolves around planning and other various things, so I see it as being complementary, to be honest, on both sides. “Issues are brought to your attention when you’re campaigning and you can translate that into change. “My aim is to make it easier, not harder, for people who want to live in the country and bring their children into the country.” Mr De Campo said the party would be hosting several listening events throughout the electorate.