John Harvey moved to the Hunter Valley in 1999 after spending many years in Sydney.

He grew up in the politically charged city of Canberra, where he witnessed the impact pressure groups can have on the political process.

John was always interested in politics and history - his great, great grandfather raised the Eureka flag as the troops charged the miners stronghold in 1854.

He studied Dentistry at the University of Sydney and graduated in 1974.

After ten years in private practice, and after speaking with thousands of patients who expressed an injustice with the political system, John decided to take a stand and become involved in the political system.

He subsequently spent 20 years working at the "coal face" of the political process in Australia - as Federal Director of the National Party, Political Adviser to both Andrew Peacock and Jeff Kennett, and Chief of Staff to Nick Greiner when he was Premier of NSW. With considerable pressure from his wife Alexandra to "get a real job again", he returned to Dentistry in 1995.

His belief in the free enterprise system was challenged when he experienced the damage industry has caused to our environment.

After reading a speech by Robert Kennedy Jnr. he became politically charged again.

Kennedy said: "Environmental injury is deficit spending; it is a way of loading the cost of our generation's prosperity onto the backs of our children".

A major coal mine is now threatening the environmental, tourism and lifestyle future of his local community. He has become President of the Quorrobolong Community Council, representing a large group of concerned citizens challenging the mine's proposal to undermine the community, causing irreversible subsidence and associated environmental damage.

He co-founded the Climate Change Coalition with Patrice Newell in 2006.

On the major issues, John Harvey states:

The Hunter Valley has the opportunity to lead the world in renewable and sustainable energy - and to triple the number of jobs presently available in the coal industry in the region by moving into the renewable and sustainable energy business.

We need a health care system that can meet the challenges of our time - one that deals with providing emergency and general health care and aged care - and a system to care for the mentally and physically challenged members of our community.

We need to improve our transport system to reduce our reliance on carbon producing fuels.

We need to use our available water to provide us with the food we need - not waste it on polluters who are destroying the river systems in our regions.

We need to urge our Local, State and Federal Governments assist home  owners to become self reliant on electricity, water and waste. This will not only reduce greenhouse gases, but also considerably reduce our power, water and waste bills.

We need to address the funding of our education system – to provide adequate resources for educating Australians – from pre-school to technical to post-graduate education.

We need a tax system that is fair, is a motivator for businesses to create jobs in our region and provides all workers with an incentive to continue working.

We need a system to assist those in our community who cannot find work or who are not in a position to work – and to adequately look after those who have retired.