Media release
Mathew Dickerson to stand as an Independent
Mathew Dickerson has announced that he will be a candidate at the next State Government election to be held on 23 March 2019. At a media conference in Macquarie Street in Dubbo held at 11am on Tuesday 22 May in front of assembled media and approximately one hundred supporters, Mr. Dickerson made the long-awaited announcement.
Ever since the amalgamation of 42 Councils that took place on 12 May 2016, media and supporters have been asking Mr. Dickerson, the former Mayor of the amalgamated Dubbo City Council, if he was going to stand for the State seat of Dubbo, which incorporates the major centres of Dubbo; Mudgee; Wellington; Narromine; Gulgong; and Trangie.
After the unexpected and unpopular amalgamation, Mr. Dickerson’s successful five-year tenure as Mayor abruptly ended and Dubbo and Wellington were put under the control of an administrator. Over the last two years, Mr. Dickerson has stayed involved in the community with various community events and organisations and returned to work in one of his businesses. He even found time to help break a Guinness World Record related to a charity bike ride!
Mr. Dickerson has family ties on his paternal side that stretch back 170 years in the Dubbo electorate and on his maternal side several generations have lived in the region. He has a long history of supporting community events, being involved in charity organisations and has organised a total of three World Records as a part of various fundraisers. He has been successful in his business career with six successful start-ups and has published three books.
His first foray into minor politics was when he was elected Chairman of the Dubbo City Development Corporation in 2002. In 2004, he stood for Dubbo City Council as an independent and was successful. At the 1999 election, all twelve Councillors on Dubbo City Council had been elected on tickets or groups making Mr. Dickerson’s decision a bold one that showed his preference for independence. Mr. Dickerson has long held the view that a local Council is no place for groups or parties.
A year after being elected to Council, Mr. Dickerson was the City’s Deputy Mayor and over the next six years spent time on a variety of Council committees and as Deputy Mayor. In 2011, Mr. Dickerson was elected as the thirty eighth Mayor of Dubbo and, over the next five years, saw Dubbo achieve record levels of investment and prosperity with tourist numbers increasing; record passenger numbers through the airport with airlines starting new routes; motel vacancy rates at record lows; many new initiatives started and, as tested by surveys, confidence in Councillors at record highs.
Even though Mr. Dickerson said he did not have a burning desire to be a politician, it was on the day the amalgamation occurred that he knew something felt wrong on the political landscape in his electorate. “I have a firm belief that the Members of the Legislative Assembly, the house where Members are directly representing their electorates, should put the wishes of the electorate first. The amalgamation decision, against all logic and against the wishes of the people, showed me that the tail was wagging the dog. The party machine was more important than the electorate – and that was wrong,” said Mr. Dickerson.
Despite this feeling, Mr. Dickerson did not make an immediate decision to stand for the State Government seat with the next election being almost three years away. Mr. Dickerson continued, “I never had any intention of attempting to become the State Member but with so much time before the next election, I had time to consider a variety of options – including walking away completely. As I thought more about what was happening in our electorate and across the State, it became obvious to me that I had no choice. I have an innate need to help people and I believe that the people in this electorate will be better served by an Independent fighting for them.”
The second incarnation of the seat of Dubbo was formed in 1930 and the voters in the electorate have shown a desire to reward effort rather than blindly vote for a party. Since the first Member was elected in 1930, the seat has had ten changes of the representative. Members have come from the Labor Party; the Country Party; The Liberal Party and most recently the seat has had two independents followed by a National Party Member.
Mr. Dickerson opined, “This seat has had Independent members before and, although I realise it will be very tough to oust a sitting Member who received a sixty per cent primary vote at the last election, it is not impossible. The seat of Dubbo had success with Tony McGrane and Dawn Fardell as our local Members from 1999 to 2011 and they delivered a number of significant achievements for Dubbo by always being prepared to argue the case for the electorate. Both Members worked with whoever was in Government and delivered for our Community.”
Mr. Dickerson left the last word to his kids. When it came to crunch time, he needed to have the support of his wife of twenty-three years and their four children. “I sat at the dinner table a week ago and asked my kids if they thought I should stand at the election. I explained to them that it would be a lot of hard work over the next ten months and the probability of beating a sitting Member was very low. My children told me that when they were competing in sport or at school, my advice to them was always to have a go and do their best. They gave that advice back to me with interest and said I had always taught them that just because you are unlikely to win doesn’t mean you don’t have a go. It doesn’t matter if I win or lose – what matters is that I have a go and do my best. And that was the final affirmation I needed to go forward,” Mr. Dickerson explained as the last piece he needed to fall into place before making the announcement.
Contact:
Mathew Dickerson
0418 628 439
