Former tour company owner and managing director Duncan Dean has put his hand up to run for the United Australia Party in La Trobe.

Mr. Dean believes that the current ‘two party’ system is failing Australians.

He sees both the Liberal Party and the ALP as self-interested entities out of touch with the needs of everyday people.

The leadership turmoil experienced by the major parties over the past decade is proof they cannot be trusted to run the nation, according to Mr. Dean’s twitter account.

He makes the transition to a potential political stint after a broad ranging professional career.

Mr Dean owned and operated an inbound touring company up until 2018 prior to which he was an experienced public servant and businessman.

He was the Assistant State Manager at the now defunct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and also served as Assistant Director of the Victorian Road Transport Association.

Mr Dean is vocal about the urgency of the climate emergency facing the planet.

He believes that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources must begin immediately but expresses concern for Australia’s economic needs.

The candidate for La Trobe is supportive of the UAP’s proposed expansion of nuclear technology as an alternative to fossil fuel energy sources.

Mr Dean notes that the technology has been safely utilised in over twenty countries; and that its successful rollout in Canada may be used as a model in Australia.

He supports the implementation of nuclear energy as an important social and economic policy and states that Australia may solve the issue of job loss in the fossil fuel sector by creating thousands of new roles in nuclear power.

While he sees the need to transition away from a reliance on coal, he says compromises must be made to protect Australia’s economic position.

Fossil fuels could still hold a place in a low carbon economy, Mr Dean believes, urging Australia to sell high kilojoule coal to India and China until they are able to transition to renewable sources to counter the impacts of burning locally produced low kilojoule products.

He believes this compromise is necessary to encourage economic growth in Australia while reaching targets set within the Paris Accord.

Away from his primary area of focus in energy and environmental policy, if elected he hopes to prevent people smuggling activity into Australia.

He believes the government’s handling of the Medevac bill and its decision to reopen Christmas Island may have negative repercussions for refugee safety and the state of Australia’s border management.

If successful in his campaign in La Trobe, Mr Dean says he wants to break the current Coalition – Labor duopoly to represent La Trobe and solve the major parties’ reluctance to implement significant energy policy.