1on1 With the Moustached Senator, RMSteve

In conversation with James Jamesonson, KBE PVC

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IN this term of parliament, few are as meticulous about personal grooming as the recently-appointed Senator for Western Australia, u/RMSteve. A member of the new generation of Liberals, the Senator recently sat down with me to discuss his past, politics, and where to from here.

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THE MOUSTACHED SENATOR: First-term senator for Western Australia, RMSteve

Thank you for your time today, Senator. You’re part of a group of up-and-coming, first-term LNP parliamentarians. Can I ask, what were you doing before being appointed to the Senate, and what made you decide to take the leap into politics?

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I was a doctor. I ran my own small clinic, went to work every single day, and earned money by myself every single day. I also liked cooking and painting as hobbies. Anyway, one day, I turn on the news and it showed a grocery store owner getting arrested for being unable to pay his debts and mortgages. I was quite angry that this happened. At the time, it seemed that the conservative parties looked out for corporations and the upper class and the leftist parties only looked out for the lower classes. Not one of them seemed to do anything useful to protect the economic and civil rights of the middle class themselves. Seeing this, I decided to enter politics to do some good for my fellow middle class, the class slowly getting compressed to death by the fat butts from above and the fists from down below.

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The LNP is, of course, a ‘broad church’ – you have your more liberally-minded ‘small l liberals’, and you have your right-wing conservatives. Where do you find yourself on that spectrum?

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I am a conservative liberal. I usually prefer heavy economic freedom and would prefer to keep the government out of the market and also prefer traditional values to be at the forefront of society and societal affairs. I, like everyone else, am not a monolith even in this ideology. I believe in the complete separation of church and state and the heavily-regulated legalization of marijuana as well as the reexamination of marijuana arrest cases. I am very fond of civil liberties and seek to solidify the rights of the people so that the government or its underlings cannot violate those rights and, if they try, they will be severely punished.

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The actions of the government have frequently made the headlines, in many instances this coverage has been negative. What do you say to those who attack the government for its handling of recent decisions, such as the national anthem debacle?

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No government has a monopoly on virtue and no government has a monopoly on incompetence; to say this is to defy the human characteristic of individuality. That being said, this government has acted honorably most of the time to present laws that bolster the freedom and prosperity of the Australian people and, though they may have made some mistakes, the government is still the government and each member works tirelessly, sometimes staying up at night, to strengthen Australia.

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RMSteve has his eyes on the seat of Pearce, currently held by the opposition leader. Could both the opposition leader and prime minister fall at the next election?

What do you hope to achieve in your time as a Senator for Western Australia, and in your new portfolio of Minister for Education, Training and Youth?

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As the Senator of Western Australia, I would like our mining industry to be given priority, as well as relax business restrictions that hinder middle-class people from earning their money, such as unnecessary taxes. Also, during this pandemic, we will be attempting to submit a care package to small business owners and middle-class workers around the country and attempting to halt mortgages and rent payments until well after the pandemic is over and quarantine is lifted completely. We will be setting up a commission designed to ensure the money given by the government goes to the proper hands instead of being taken by large corporations.

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Of course, as a Senator your prospects for promotion are limited to some extent. Would you ever consider a move to the House of Reps?

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I love my colleagues and my friends in the Senate, but you are right: as much as I want to stay, it all depends on what the party asks me to do. If the party requests me to move to the House, I will not hesitate to become an MP, preferably for Pearce.

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Senator, thank you for your time. NR