smartvote Australia

Profile

Bill Stefaniak

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | Belco Party

Electorate: Ginninderra

Residence: Narrabundah

Profession: Former Public Prosecutor, Solicitor, Part-time President (ACAT), Former part-time senior member (AAT Sydney)

Current political position(s): Convener and cofounder, Belco Party

Select gender: Male

Year of birth: 1952

Statement:

After years in the ACTLA as a former Minister and Opposition leader, I left the Assembly in 2008 to take up a position in ACAT. Over the last few years my wife and I have become more and more disillusioned with ACT politics. She encouraged me to have another go and run for my old seat in Belconnen, neglected by the current government who are more concerned with governing for inner city elites. The Belco Party aims to "keep the bastards honest" and provide good governance to the people of the ACT

smartspider

Questionnaire

Bill Stefaniak

The smartspider is a graphical visualisation of the political profiles of the candidates and users based on their answers to the questionnaire. Each of the 6 axes represents a formulated goal in a policy area (e.g. Welfare state, Law & order etc.) based on at least three questions from the questionnaire. A few questions have been assigned to multiple axes and some questions have not been assigned to any axis. For each axis a value of between 100 and 0 points can be reached. A value of 100, at the outside edge of the spider, represents strong agreement with the formulated goal of the corresponding axis. A value of 0, in the centre of the spider, means that there is no agreement with the formulated goal. The more similar the political profiles of a candidate and user are, the more their smartspiders will overlap. For more information on the smartspider and which questions are assigned with which axes, see the methodology page.

Bill Stefaniak

1. Should the government release more land to build houses in the ACT?

The ACT will continue to grow and will need more land releases to allow a mix of greenfield and medium density development

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

2. Should Stage 2 of Canberra's light rail system commence as soon as possible?

It is a can have not a must have and we need to have a good hard look at what is the best transport option for the ACT for the next 100 years . Light rail is old technology and may well be replaced with more efficient modern technology . There are much cheaper alternatives being used in other cities around the world at present which could provide a better service at a fraction of the cost . It is a vanity project of Messrs Rattenbury and Barr. We can do better .

3. Is it necessary to relax heritage protections of buildings to promote development in the ACT?

we don't have much heritage . its important to keep as much as we realistically can

4. Should landlords be prohibited from evicting a tenant without cause?

we need to bring our laws into line with NSW. The RTA is weighted heavily in favour of tenants as it is . Some times a landlord and a tenant simply don't get on. At any rate a landlord cannot evict a tenant without cause for the term of the lease Its only when the lease becomes a periodic tenancy that the landlord can give the tenant 6 months notice ( in NSW its 3 months ) I used to do this for a living as a President at ACAT .so I have a fair amounut of experience in this area .

5. Do you think increasing the ACT's population is needed for our economic growth?

6. Should childcare be free for parents regardless of their income?

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

7. Do you think the ACT Government should have prohibited the Black Lives Matter public demonstrations during the COVID-19 pandemic?

We are all meant to be equal in Australia.Demos could be held later when its safe and there are other ways to protest or make your point - eg the ANZAC day candles at 6 am in individual households .

8. Should there be tighter regulations of pokie machines?

I think we are at a good stage of sensible restrictions now. Clubs provide inexpensive entertainment and support thousands of kids in sport . They provide jobs for thousands of young and not so young Canberrans The inner city elite Greens are totally out of touch with ordinary Canberra citizens is who enjoy their clubs . Real problem gamblers will just go to Queanbeyan or gamble on line at any rate .. .

9. Should the ACT Government close schools with low enrolments?

Especially high schools . Primary schools can be kept open and the buildings should be used for community purposes as they may be needed if there is re growth in the suburb as schools again.

10. Do you support the replacement of the stamp duty with higher rates?

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

11. Should unemployment benefits be reduced to their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level, once the crisis is over?

we had close to full employment and we do need to encourage people to work and not just live of tax payer funded welfare . that said the dole could be a bit higher .

12. Is reducing government debt currently the most important economic issue facing the ACT?

It is long term . I was in government from 1995 to 2001 and we wiped out the debt without any major problems . Jon Stanhope did the same . Messrs Barr and Ratennbury seem incapable of doing it however . To para phrase Margaret Thatcher - You eventually run out of other peoples money to spend if you don't live within your means -

13. Do you think that a high number of job losses is acceptable if it can protect public health?

14. Should property developers be allowed to donate to political parties and candidates?

Unions are allowed to. I think we should either ban all donations and allocate advertising venues and time to all candidates or be fairly flexible with donations - as long as they don't come from criminals , illegal activities or unsavory foreign influences like the Communist Party of China, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin or the fat man in North Korea - or come to think of it from any non Australian source

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

15. Should elected politicians delegate more decision-making powers to chief health officers during public health crises?

they are the experts . But at the end of the day the buck must stop at the minister /premier or chief minister and the politician should not hide behind the Health officer .Anastasia P should have allowed in those greiving families from the ACT- there was no medical reason not to . Experts are not always right .Ministers need to have experience and commence sense .

16. Should the ACT Integrity Commissioner have oversight over ACT Policing?

You answer your own question as there already is oversight . However more needs to be done to investigate rorts possible corruption, abuse of power and inappropriate conduct by public servants of all descriptions

17. Do you think there should be more limitations on the ACT government's ability to deploy mandatory lockdowns in response to public health threats?

I think apart from Victoria and to a lesser extent Qld, all Australian Governments have performed well with their restrictions

18. Do you think that women should readily be able to obtain an abortion if they request one?

I do believe in the right to life and people need to be responsible for their own actions . However there are clearly situations where abortion is the logical option. It certainly should not be criminalised and is not now in Australia.

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

19. Should churches have the right to refuse to administer same-sex marriages?

We are meant to have freedom of religion inthis country and if I wanted to have a same sex marriage, I'd like it to be in a place that welcomed it, not one that was forced by law to endure it upon pain of penalty if they did'nt .

20. Do you think that terminally ill patients should be able to end their lives with medical assistance?

21. Should pill testing at music festivals be prohibited in the ACT?

why = people need to be responsible for their own actions . If it was necessary to protect other people, then maybe.

22. Should the ACT government accept Commonwealth funding for Christian chaplains in public schools?

why discriminate against them. matter for the school. From all accounts they do a good job . When I was at Narrabundah High School they used to let in ministers of religion to teach us religion for one period a week ( I never really enjoyed it I must say )

23. Should there be more car-free areas in the ACT?

The idea has merit for a number of reasons . But if you want to really address climate change there is diddly squat Australia can do with its 1.26% and falling of world emissions compared to china's 30 plus % and rising - I suggest if you want to reduce emissions go the Chinese embassy and ask them ( politely ) what they intend to do - and good luck !!!

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

24. Should the ACT relax its net zero carbon emissions target?

probably no need and at any rate as we get power off a grid that includes good old 24/7 power souses such as coal and gas, we really are not 100% zero- its just that wind farms and solar farms we own produce at least 100% of the ACT's needs , but they don't necessarily all just get pumped into the ACT

25. Are the worsening bushfire seasons a direct result of human-induced climate change?

climate change has not helped and probably made them a lot more frequent but excessive fuel loads that have built up,over the last 40 years and the closed fire trails in Namadji and elsewhere in the ACT that have helped lock up our forests due to weak Liberal labor and labor/green governments are the main cause of extreme fires. If there were no fuel loads the intensity would be so much less.The greens have a lot to answer for and only China can address climate change

26. Should people who break the law be given stiffer sentences?

Our courts are tougher than they were 30 years ago and I would only use mandatory sentences as a last resort for some crimes ( such as assault police and other front line workers such as nurses ) . We do however need sentencing guidelines like NSW has to assist courts with consistent sentences that reflect the gravity or otherwise of the crime .

Definitely yes

Mostly yes

Mostly no

Definitely no

27. Should the recreational use of marijuana by adults be a criminal offence?

the new laws are a dogs breakfast and are contradictory . the old laws of infringement notices for small amounts of cannabis for a persons own use were fair . Cannabis these days is often a lot stronger than it was 30 years ago and can cause significant permanent mental health problems It should not be encouraged .

28. Do you think Indigenous Australians who break the law should be offered alternative sentencing?

Circle sentencing works well in many instances . I would not agree with it being offered in all cases . certainly not for very serious crimes of violence or dishonesty , but for medium to lower level crimes its a good initiative .

29. Should public expenditure on policing be increased or decreased? (Remember “more” could result in a tax increase and “less” could result in fewer services.)

the first responsibility of any government is to ensure the security of its people . At a national level this means a strong defense force and at the state /territory level it means a strong and adequately resourced police force .

Much less

Somewhat less

Same

Somewhat more

Much more

30. Should public expenditure on multicultural and inclusion programs be increased or decreased? (Remember “more” could result in a tax increase and “less” could result in fewer services.)

multicultural funding is probably about right but i wonder if some of the " inclusion funding " is just wasted. We did'nt have any inclusion funding when my father came out from Europe after WW2 and former enemies quickly learnt to adjust and co-habitate and even become friends in this great country . Inclusiveness in recent times has often led to discrimination against certain people . It can be counter productive .

31. Should public expenditure on roads be increased or decreased? (Remember “more” could result in a tax increase and “less” could result in fewer services.)

Its a basic duty of any local government and this one has dropped the ball on many occasions.

32. Should public expenditure on public housing be increased or decreased? (Remember “more” could result in a tax increase and “less” could result in fewer services.)

The government needs to take a greater interest in it . - we need to ensure no one has to sleep rough during a Canberra .winter .