Meet the man who is bridging the gap between the left and right in Lindsay.
Stephen Lynch has been announced as the Nick Xenophon Team’s (NXT) candidate to run against the two major parties for the seat of Lindsay in this year’s Federal Election.
On Saturday, Lynch and South Australian Senator and party founder, Nick Xenophon, met at the Nepean River to encourage Lindsay to take the NXT step.
“I truly believe the NXT is the best party to represent the interests of Lindsay,” Mr Lynch said.
“I’m the underdog, there’s no doubt about that. I’m going up against two large party machines with bucket loads of cash, but I’ve got to give the people of Lindsay a chance to have somebody who will look after their interests.”
Mr Lynch believes he brings a fresh fight in the debate about a western Sydney airport that’s going ahead regardless of community resistance.
“The two major parties want it. We just want to make sure we get a fair deal out of it – we don’t want to be left up Badgerys Creek without a paddle,” he said.
“If the Sydney Airport Corporation exercises its right to become the owners of the western Sydney airport, we will insist the same rules apply for western Sydney airport as what they apply for Kingsford Smith.”
Mr Xenophon said a vote for Mr Lynch and the NXT is a vote in the political centre as they close the gap between Labor and Liberal.
“We want to be a bridge between the left and the right of politics. I think it’s too much ‘red team v blue team’ that’s all about scoring points than actually fixing problems,” he said.
The NXT will focus on issues such as gambling, manufacturing, food labeling, education, domestic violence and the ice epidemic.
“We’re not prohibitionists, we’re not abolitionists, but we need to implement the Productivity Commission recommendations [on gambling] which the major parties have run away from,” Mr Xenophon said.
While its still early days, Mr Xenophon believes his party will gain momentum.
“After this election it will evolve to something else without using my name, but with those values people have seen in nearly 18 years of State and Federal Parliament,” he said.
