LIBERAL candidate for Hasluck David Goode says his background in banking, local government and small business gives him the tools to be a practical and effective federal representative.

The former City of Gosnells mayor, who has served on council since 2013, said his focus was on restoring economic balance and supporting working families, particularly on housing and cost of living.

“I’m a banker by profession,” he said.

“Twenty-six years with Bankwest and for the past 21 years, I’ve been self-employed in finance.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re not wasting the ratepayers’ funds and that principle should apply nationally.”

On housing affordability, Mr Goode said he believed a multi-pronged approach was essential, and used a baking metaphor to make his point.

“It’s like the ingredients to making a delicious cake and there’s about five key ingredients,” he said.

Mr Goode said there needed to be increased land supply through more infrastructure, reductions to the cost of construction, and easing demand pressure by stopping foreign buyers for a period to bring the market back into equilibrium.

“What we’re going to do is stop people from coming into Australia for the first two years from buying a house,” he said.

“We’ll put the freeze on that and lower the rate of immigration so it’s rebalanced.

“I love people from all over Australia, all over the world, it doesn’t matter where you come from but you need to have a balance so that even when they get here they can still afford to buy.

“So, you wait until the market is rebalanced, then you can make policy adjustments but you just want to make sure that there’s available supply and unfortunately you see the land everywhere without the roads, without the sewage, electricity and water.”

He said he supported allowing first home
buyers early access to superannuation, unlocking government land, and reviewing regulatory barriers to development.

Mr Goode has also addressed criticism about not currently living within the boundaries of
Hasluck, saying his connections to the area
run deep and the new boundaries are a
significant factor.

“Once upon a time, I was in the electorate for over 10 years and the boundaries changed,” he said.

“My house keeps shifting electorates without moving – I don’t live in the electorate now.

“If I’m lucky enough on May 3 I’ll certainly want to move into the electorate.

“What really connects me to the electorate is, I’m a self-employed mortgage broker, I’m an ex-bank manager.

“I’ve got people who live in the electorate, in Caversham, Ellenbrook, all over, so I’m connecting all the time with those people and I’m here to try and save them some money and reduce their cost of living pressures.”

Mr Goode said his strength was his accessibility and honesty.

“If I’m lucky enough to be elected, I will be accessible to the people, answer every email, phone call and meet with people,” he said.

“I have no fear as far as (having) a 30-year career in politics.

“I’m 63 years of age – I want to get the job done.”