I was born in Germany in 1966 and migrated to Australia in 1983. My wife and I have been living in Rockdale since 1994 when we bought our house here. We have four children.
I frequently ride the bicycle path from West Botany Road, past the Spring Street Wetland, through the M5 underpass and past the habitat of the Green and Golden Bell Frog.
I have been involved in politics in a minor way for years. Before 2016, this amounted essentially to writing letters to newspapers and to members of parliament. But in 2016 I decided to step up my involvement. I contested the federal electorate of Barton as an independent. I achieved 2.55% which wasn't as much as I had hoped for but enough to avoid embarassment.
Prior to the election campaign I had no idea that I was cycling past the Arncliffe GGBF habitat all the time. But during the campaign, a campaigner for the GGBF showed me the site. My interest in the Arncliffe Green and Golden Bell Frog started that day, on June 29.
My main motivation in politics is to protect our quality of life for our children and grandchildren. A big part of that is preserving the environment generally, but particularly in the areas where we live and work.
I am a computer programmer. I also program in my own time. You can find some of my software and more campaign material at http://rasmustorkel.id.au.