Are you a member of a political party?
I am not a member of any political party nor do I have any aspirations to be part of a political party.
I strongly believe that Local Government should be about community , not politics, not political seat warming or sandwich eating, there is nothing wrong with political affiliation as in party membership but political ambition and policy needs to be checked in at the Council door, personally I think that some candidates struggle with this concept.
Social media disclosures
There has been a push in some local Governments for candidates and Elected members to be up front about their social media usage where that may represent a conflict or hide some association for instance some groups openly support particular candidates at election time where their values align .I have listed the social media groups where I have some control on my transparency page.
What about rates, you have not promised to freeze them?
Because it would be an empty promise. Many candidates current and past have advertised 2, 3 or more years rate freezes, this is a commitment that they simply cannot honestly make, it does not work that way. Council makeup changes every 2 years, so even if you have the measure of the current Council, you do not know what that will be in 2 years time.
That said.... the Town of Cambridge managed 5 years of 0% rate increases - in a row, that's a decrease in real terms - so clearly rate reductions in real terms are possible but will remain a pipe dream until a Council exists that realises that if the only question is 'how high' then the answer will always start with a +
It should be possible given the impressive financial portfolio of a multi-billion dollar organisation blessed with ever increasing rateable properties, to investigate operational efficiencies and keep the budget of its ratepayers firmly in mind when departing from roads, rates and rubbish. The Administration driven assumption that rates go up each and every year has to change.
The City of Stirling employs some of the States best and brightest who I have no doubt, no doubt at all could, if tasked with an assumption that rates need not rise by default, could ably put themselves to the task of making such a target and not the pipe dream some claim it to be.
What do you hope to achieve if elected?
Roads, Rates and Rubbish - the three R's are the primary reason for the existence of local Local Government, Stirling to the largest part does a good job at such however this is an area that still has room for improvement and could benefit from easier and quicker reporting options for ratepayers and for increased response times.
A change of Culture at the City of Stirling, reversal of the apathy that surrounds much decision making, returning power from the unelected executive back into the hands of those accountable and elected to do so, improving development outcomes for both developers and residents, I am not anti-development, I can not say this strongly enough, nobody is happy with the current dysfunction in the Planning and Development Directorates at Stirling, not residents, not builders, nobody.
Also of course there will be many things that I do not yet know that might need addressing, I will be here primarily to listen to your concerns, see what can be reasonably done about them and follow through without fear or favor, I want to help so let me know whats bugging you.
And how do you intend to do that?
--LISTEN--
From working with community groups across the City - if I have learned anything, and I hope I have, it is to listen to and respect local knowledge, local understanding and local perspectives. Solution a) to problem b) may work well in Scarborough ... but not in Watermans - and local knowledge is invaluable to understanding why a proposal or a solution is unpopular or may fail to achieve the desired results.
The people of Karrinyup spoke loudly on the traffic problems that further redevelopment would cause in the vicinity, decision makers chose to listen to developer provided 'experts' instead of the the real experts the community.
It is my intention to amplify the community voice in all Council decision making.
How can I help?
There are a number of ways you can help promote positive change in the City of Stirling.
- Vote
- Vote for me!
- Host one of my signs at your home or business
- Tell your friends and neighbors to vote for me, especially once the voting envelopes start arriving at the beginning of October.
- Volunteer: There’s a form on this website. I could do with some help delivering leaflets
