Policies
Wilkie made the removal of poker machines his primary campaign issue in the 2010 Tasmanian state election. He is strongly opposed to the Gunns pulp mill in the Tamar Valley. Wilkie is a supporter of voluntary euthanasia, provided that there are safeguards in place, he is also in favour of same-sex marriage and access to abortion. He is in support of a National Broadband Network and is opposed to WorkChoices.
During Wilkie's maiden speech to Federal Parliament on 30 September 2010, he called for withdrawal of Australian troops from Afghanistan. He said Australia should be more willing to say "no" more often to the United States. He said that there can be no hope for peace in Afghanistan until foreign troops are withdrawn: "No-one should be fooled by the Australian Government's periodic efforts to tinker around the edges with Australia's commitment to Afghanistan" and that "The reality is that the best plan the Australian Government can come up with so far is simply to continue to support whatever the US Government comes up with and that alone is no plan—it's just reinforcing failure."
Wilkie's comments came amid Opposition calls for more support for Australia's troops in Afghanistan. During his speech Wilkie also canvassed his push for legislation to protect whistleblowers, measures to tackle problem gambling and a more humane approach to asylum seekers.
In March 2011 he called Liberal MPs Cory Bernardi and Scott Morrison "a disgrace to high office" calling on Tony Abbott to sack them both and referring to endemic racism in the Liberal party.
Read more about this topic: Andrew Wilkie
Famous quotes containing the word policies:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
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