“I love the community, the friends and the community spirit that I've been lucky enough to participate in and the wonderful people that I’ve met on my journey here,” he says.
The Seymour GP and former North Melbourne footballer turns 70 next month, and he has been asked by those close to him why he has chosen to put himself through a taxing campaign as the United Australia Party’s candidate for Nicholls.
For Dr Peterson, the state and federal governments’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic is at the core of his decision to run.
“Watching what was unfolding in front of my eyes, I saw a situation where the government was not looking after Australians as they should,” he says.
“We've lost our freedoms. Freedom over our bodies and freedom over movement, and the way they've handled the pandemic has been a disgrace.”
When asked whether it would be more worthwhile campaigning on these issues at a state level, Dr Peterson believes “that’s the whole point”.
“They should never have been state-based issues and the Coalition and the Morrison Government have deliberately avoided taking control on a federal level.
“We have this absurd situation at the moment now, where in Victoria, we're still under the emergency legislation, then you go up to Queensland and the mandates are being removed. I mean, this is just absurd. We're all Australians and we need to be under a law for all Australia.”
While the pandemic response is front of mind for Dr Peterson, it’s not what Nicholls voters are telling him is their most pressing issue. As he travels across the electorate, he has identified “the cost of living, housing and the provision of health” as the top three concerns.
On housing, he is particularly concerned about the mortgage stress facing residents in places such as Broadford and Seymour.
“You have to strive to get a deposit for years and years and years, and here we have a situation where, you know, you're on the edge. And after all those years of battling to get a house, we've got to protect you,” Dr Peterson says.
It has been impossible to avoid the United Australia Policy’s headline housing policy. Across the country, billboards, websites and phones have been painted yellow and black to spruik the party’s plan for official interest rates to be capped at three per cent.
On this issue, Dr Peterson isn’t too concerned about practicalities and is proposing a back to the future approach by taking control for setting interest rates off the Reserve Bank of Australia.
“Up until 1960, the government was in control of monetary policy and now we've turned that over to the Reserve Bank, and the Reserve Bank is under the control of the International Monetary Fund, and they're not representing Australians,” he alleges.
Dr Peterson worked for many years as a doctor for aged care residents in Seymour and is also keen to see urgent change in this area.
While oversight is the major concern for the UAP candidate, he is also calling for more investment to increase salaries and training.
“I think to attract the appropriate quality of carers, we've got to increase TAFE education-wise to develop more nurses (and) aged care workers,” he says.
“Give them a salary which is attractive. And have a ratio of patient to care which is much more appropriate.”
While polling suggests that Dr Peterson’s chances of emerging as the new local member are negligible, if elected in a hung parliament he will make “decisions which are purely based on what's the best for Australians and what's the best for Nicholls”.
And if he’s not successful, golf and grandchildren will be high on the agenda.
“I'll be able to spend a lot more time with my grandkids and I'll probably try and source a coach to improve my golf,” he says.
This interview is the first in a series of conversations in The Telegraph with Nicholls candidates.
We are keen to hear your top issues for this year’s federal election. Email them to editor@seymourtelegraph.com.au
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