Falklands : The Election Manifesto of Richard Stevens (28/10/09)
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 28.10.2009 (Article Archived on 11.11.2009)

Richard Stevens puts his points forward in the Falklands Election 2009.

THE ELECTION MANIFESTO OF RICHARD STEVENS

Richard Stevens

During the last council I have achieved a number of things individually and collectively. In the camp arena we widened the scope for the labour scheme and improved the criteria for labour. I also supported maintaining the FIP funds for the term of the last council.

I initiated the work to provide digital TV to camp and replacing the obsolete telecommunication network. The new infrastructure includes spare power to be able to cope with mobile phone technology in the future. I think government should encourage C&W to provide Mobile coverage along the main spine of the road network.

I also supported the abattoir because it gives farms another income stream and can increase the value of cull sheep and reduces the competition on farms involved with farm kill. If the abattoir were to close more farms would target the small local market and drive the prices and number of kills per farm down. The high level of subsidy remains a concern but it has been very difficult to reduce this figure without effecting parts of the industry.

I have been instrumental in the development of the RDS arguing initially that we needed more members from the rural community and loosing that fight and then later arguing that we needed to bolster the political clout of the group and getting my way. I am also pleased that recently after discussions at this years Farmers Week the rural representation was beefed up agreeing with my earlier stance. I believe the RDS is a group that continuously works on the issues rather than stops and starts every time there is a new council.  I hope that the RDS can come forward with some interesting proposals at the beginning of the next council with enough time to implement initiatives in the next few years.

 Many businesses have been generated and developed with local initiative. This has been going on outside Stanley with some very healthy tourism operations delivering a service to our many visitors. These companies have also given work and money to many people in the community. There has also been an increasing amount of activity in the horticultural sector. There has also been positive development elsewhere. A café has been set up at Goose Green another shop at Fox Bay. Another haulier has started trading recently on the West. These are encouraging signs that camp is alive and kicking.

I was one of three councillors that worked tirelessly, after other councils had failed, to construct a modern immigration structure that would operate to the needs of the Falkland Islands. Police record checks, medical checks and a points system that tries to identify people that we need and want without stifling the ambitions of existing residents. We will need to build on this work urgently if we strike oil.

In Education we drove through a restructuring program that gives a pathway for teachers to work through added responsibility posts to the top positions in the department. We put in place monitoring of teaching and learning so that we are able to identify our needs quickly and respond to those demands.

Within the board we are looking at visiting different parts of the Department on the days that the board meets to develop understanding between staff and board members. We are looking at constructing a system for the education board that records the items we are working on and then shows us when we should expect to achieve these goals. I think this will help us in not loosing sight of any issue that comes before us.

One of the subjects that should be top of this list is the need to modernise the education ordinance and give it a high priority because the existing laws are antiquated and inadequate.

The training centre has moved to a new location that includes workshops and, classrooms and offices. These enhanced facilities will deliver a better service and cost less to run.

We need to look at careers advice and build up better co-operation between the Falkland Island Community School, The Training Centre and businesses.

If I get re-elected I would like to see an integrated transport review that looks thoughtful at utilizing all our assets in a seamless and complementary way. It is a difficult and complex piece of work but we need to grapple with the issues.

The Ferry has only been going for a year and it is agreed that this service needs to get better and evolve. FIG is committed to working to that end by building a terminal at Port Howard that will help along with other things to improve the all-important reliability and I am behind this determination to succeed.  FIGAS has had its changes brought about by economic pressure and safety issues introduced by our operating regulator. We have to find solutions.

For instance could planes be used to fly in supplies on a regular basis to Islands especially tourist destinations? Could then the visiting times of the Concordia Bay be extended and used to focus on reliability in shipping wool, fuel and stock.

I think these and other questions should be asked, liaising with the people involved, in an effort to deliver a better service.

Another part of this picture is prioritising the upgrading and capping of roads. We have to think about the best value for money system to maximise work done. I favour building stockpiles of decent material in strategic locations and trying to minimise distances between material and the job.

I would continue to strive for a sense of urgency on the work that is already underway in the independent evaluation of C&W’s performance and the new proposed controls. After all the money spent and the efforts of the C&W staff it is still disappointing that some of the gremlins still persist particularly in the Wi Max operation.

I would continue to push for all speed in getting the digital T.V. equipment into the islands and installed. For many in camp it will hopefully be the end of vulnerable, inaccessible mountain sites and an unreliable service.

The single biggest challenge of the next council will be the economy and trying to make the revenue cover expenditure. I support prudence and not to gamble on finding oil and spending more of our reserves than is absolutely necessary and for us to carry on looking at how to develop what we have already rather than expose the community and ultimately the country to economic and eventually political risk.

If oil comes along fine but if it doesn’t we are closer to developing our existing industries. Fisheries are our strongest industry but it is often said that we only get a small part of the whole economic activity.

Some feel that a deep-water port is one of the only ways to increase our take in this field. That is why I think it is important to carry on working on the calculations on this project and then make an informed decision when the time comes.

Our foreign affairs aren’t just about the Argentine we also have to work at maintaining the support of our international friends. I believe we should try and hold the moral high ground and resist the knee jerk responses to Argentine aggression. We should act in a measured way encouraging acceptable behaviour from Argentine visitors and reacting firmly but proportionately to the occasional indiscretion.

The successful NoK visit was a positive step for us delivering a non-politicised humanitarian visit for the families of the Argentine fallen. It is unfortunate that it was treated in the complete reverse by the government of these visitors and hopefully the international community will note the difference.

I support demanding our right to self-determination and exposing the irresponsibility of our neighbour in not engaging on global issues like fish stocks in the SW Atlantic. It should also be highlighted how many countries with differences have the maturity to try and work through their issues for a common good. An example of this is Gibraltar and Spain.

I have tried to show a continuous commitment to my position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly over four years including visiting locations on East and West, discussing the constitution, RDS, education and all things people have wanted to talk about. I have also socialised at the clubs at North Arm, Goose Green, Port Howard and The Southern Cross and various places during the different Farmers Weeks again always happy to be on duty.

If you want to know more about my views on these topics or on any subject that you feel I have omitted please don’t hesitate to call.

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