Dear Reader,

This morning, I heard my name on an ABC broadcast. Nominations for Pre-selection candidates for the Nationals in the NSW seat of Monaro closed yesterday. There were Two nominations, John Barilaro from Queanbeyan and Myself.

Today, is the start of another chapter in my life, the life of a fairly normal person, an attribute that I would like to maintain in the abnormal world of state politics. If anyone out there wonders why someone who thinks of himself as "Normal" would want to get themselves involved in politics, I would say to them that "as politics affects society's every outcome, everyone is already involved in some way".

The foundation for my journey into politics was moulded by my early years, my parents values and the hard learned lessons of life. I started working at what is now considered to be an early age, I have been self employed and a wage earner and I nearly always started at the bottom and worked my way up.

At 47 years old, with some success behind me and a State Government who has plunged us into a previously unimaginable all time low, I have decided to step up to the mark and see what difference someone with a bit of courage can make.
The seat of Monaro is a huge area with many different communities, it is five times the size of the Palerang shire, of which I was a Councillor for over four years and success depends on a candidates ability to understand how people are forced to live and how they WANT to live. Somewhere in the middle lies the answer to every problem and it takes an experienced, strong character to deliver ACHEIVABLE promises.

I am looking forward to meeting many of you over the next few months, where together we can discuss what NSW could look like in the future.

Kind Regards,
Mark Horan

Who is Mark Horan ?

-My wife Sonia and I are raising our four children on the property "Jinglemoney", in the middle of Palerang, 17 Km from the town of Braidwood. The next big job on the farm is to plant 2000 native trees along the Shoalhaven River to stabilise the bank, help manage the weeds and provide a wildlife corridor shelter.

-My working life ranges from a horse breaker, carpenter, business manager, Regional Manager for BHP, founding Board Member of the Braidwood and Bungendore Community Banks and a Councillor on the first Palerang Council.

-Originally from an old Canberra family, I have lived in the shire area for 20 years and worked exclusively in the Braidwood district for the past 11.

-My income mainly,comes from breeding cattle, but because the continued dry spell has placed some financial pressures on the regularity of the market, it is not uncommon to see me doing the odd bit of Carpentry or transporting stock for farmers in the district. Working in this rural enviroment gives me an understanding of the local economy and first hand experience of what often appears to be mindless city rules applied to the county!

-I was always alert to the effects that something like the global financial crisis could have on a small rural shire like Palerang and knew that without a good financial position and sound decisions, our council could never hope to provide our communities with satisfactory works, environmental or social programmes.

-The decisions taken during my term on the Palerang Council proved to be correct, given the Council's (now) sound position,when compared with its starting point (in deficit) and its performance against simmilar shires in NSW.

Meet the Horans !

Some pictures of my family at home and away :

The first post !!!

Welcome to my blog, a place to introduce myself, share ideas and to start the ball rolling for things to happen in our region !

Mark Horan