CANDIDATE RICHARD ZIEGELER:

10 QUESTIONS FROM THE TERRIER:

What three main skills could you bring to the Warrnambool City Council as a councillor?

I am a lateral thinker and a problem solver; I have many years experience of high level governance; I have very well developed communication skills, both verbal and written.

Do you see any particular issues, projects or problems in Warrnambool that you would like to work on as a councillor?

There are several, the old chestnuts being the harbour and boat ramp, with the associated difficulties pertaining to the beach use and its degradation, parking and the decline of the CBD. I would like to establish a pathway to resolution of these problems, none of which realistically will be completely fixed in one council term.

Do you think the council could be more “open” with residents and if so, how?

Council MUST be more open.

If people don’t know what’s happening then they invent their own explanations. We have a right to know, to see and hear debate and to contribute.

General business and open question time must be brought back to council and regular media interaction must be promoted. Expensive, glossy publications with platitudinal stories have to cease. There is an established newspaper with local employees.

The next 12 months are going to be challenging due to the impact of Covid-19 – do you have one or two key idea/s for how WCC could support residents and/or businesses?

Wherever possible Council has to take a softly-softly approach to businesses and residents who face financial difficulties because of the Virus.

Community must look after it’s own and if Covid has badly affected businesses then Council must be cognisant of that and be prepared to give concessions and considerations to assist them financially or even practically. B/S education and courses are not always helpful and usually do not help in a practical sense.

Do you have any ideas on where the council could cut costs, if necessary, to keep rates at the state cap?

Staffing, sharing resources with Shire neighbours more effectively; using local contractors; looking more closely for thrifty/clever/innovative solutions.

Council has to recognise that staff are usually its most valuable resource: if staff are happy and valued then they will do the best they can and try to follow the concepts of value for money, thrift and if necessary, frugality. I’m sure that staff have their own ideas about how Council can save money. After all, they too pay rates!

Preferences will decide who is elected to the council. Are you planning to preference most highly new candidates, exisiting candidates or you won’t be putting forward preferences:

New candidates.

If you were elected, what ways – if any – would you keep residents and ratepayers informed as an individual councillor?

Open communication is very important. I will make myself ever available for contact at my place of work and I hope to have regular informal sit-down sessions somewhere in town where folks can come to chat on a Saturday morning.

If you were elected, what would you have liked to have achieved at the end of your four-year term?

Some tangible progress on the issues mentioned above. I want people to see that yes, things are improving and we can see that we are moving to where we should be.

That we are living within our means and Council is NOT paying big wages to executive level staff who do not show solid results.  The old furphy that ‘if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys’ is not always true. It has to be recognised that staff are also residents here and have the same right to be proud of Warrnambool; they too want it to be as good a town as it can be for their families.

Are you a member of any political party? If so, which one?

If so, which one? No never. Are any one of them any more open and honest than the others? Are any of them much different from each other?

In the past two years, have you been a member of any local club, organisation or association?

Oh my! How many do I have room for? I am a Life Member of the Warrnambool Theatre Company, I have been a part of Heatherlie Council (Chair, Deputy Chair, Convenor of House Management and Governance Committees and Life Member); Lodge; Co-Director of Primary Performers; Dennington Community Association; Warrnambool Ratepayers Association (until 16 Sept 2020); Deputy Chair of International Society of Prosthetics and Orthotics and Director of Governance for Australia; Australian Occupational Therapy Association; Bail Justice for Victoria (and Honorary Justices Association); Club Cabaret Inc (a charitable Cabaret group in Warrnambool).

Closing thoughts or ask and answer your own question here:

Look, I can’t honestly say that I will get any further than any other Councillor if I get in, but I will try. I will not make any promises that I can’t be sure of honouring.  BUT I do promise to give my all to the very serious job of representing residents and ratepayers and I WILL make public any Council business which I am legally allowed to.

I know that putting myself up as a Councillor is a way to have slings and arrows cast my way and often unreasonably. I can only hope that if I put in, openly and honestly, people will respect that and be assured that I am on their side.

You can find Richard’s candidate Facebook page here.

CANDIDATE JACINTA ANDERSON

10 QUESTIONS FROM THE TERRIER:

What three main skills could you bring to the Warrnambool City Council as a councillor?

One main skill I can bring as a councillor is financial literacy, honesty and transparency to ensure Warrnambool City Council Budgets ARE accurate including ALL income and expenses.

WCC has fallen short in previous budgets by not including all income. Peter Hulin bought this to the attention of council when he was a councillor and I can vouch that the income was wrong. I suggest we seriously look into investigating the previous WCC financials for the past 10 years.

My other two skills I can bring is sewing and painting so you can expect to see a lot more colour around Warrnambool and hopefully Warrnambool’s own Fashion Festival.

Do you see any particular issues, projects or problems in Warrnambool that you would like to work on as a councillor?

As a councillor I am very keen to obtain funding to implement the construction of a new waste treatment plant. However the current Wannon Water upgrade options are inadequate and will need to be investigated for more sustainable options.  I’d also like to see more community housing built with affordable rent for the homeless and vulnerable.

Future projects I would like to work on would include collaborating with Moyne Shire and Gunditijmara to develop and implement Indigenous cultural education at Tower Hill, outdoor class rooms.

Waste management reduction and recycling!

Do you think the council could be more “open” with residents and if so, how?

Yes definitely there is room for improvement. By listening more to resident’s requests and holding question sessions via Zoom meetings or a suggestions section on its Facebook page. The council is moving forward in this capacity holding more community consultations which is a positive step.

The new LG Act 2020 includes a community engagement policy which incorporates financial decisions. So this means that the community have to be engaged in financial decisions too, from what I believe the new Act states.

The next 12 months are going to be challenging due to the impact of Covid-19 – do you have one or two key idea/s for how WCC could support residents and/or businesses?

Coming out of lockdown I think everyone needs a happy day to celebrate, perhaps this could be on the council’s agenda moving out of restrictions.

Council should always encourage residents to shop locally especially to support all industries. I think if we focus on local spending and tourism opportunities things could really look up. I have a few fun and exciting ideas up my sleeve!

Do you have any ideas on where the council could cut costs, if necessary, to keep rates at the state cap?

Yes definitely I have heaps of ideas. Firstly I am quite happy to volunteer (as a councillor) for free. I personally believe leaders who represent the community should not be motivated by money.  I believe we could gain money by actually doing a transparent honest budget that includes all income and expenses. I’ve said this before maybe WCC should consider restructuring as a non-profit organisation?

We can also reduce costs by investing in local recycling systems. How much does it cost to employ people to sort recycling? Instead of sending it to land fill.

We could stop purchasing 1080 which I would like banned. Also Roundup that’s another purchase expense we don’t need. Perhaps the WCC could just ask the local Aboriginal community if they are happy for us to share their land then we wouldn’t have to pay any rates.

Preferences will decide who is elected to the council. Are you planning to preference most highly new candidates, exisiting candidates or you won’t be putting forward preferences:

New candidates.

If you were elected, what ways – if any – would you keep residents and ratepayers informed as an individual councillor?

As a potential councillor the most efficient way to keep residents and ratepayers updated would be via mails outs. There are also social media outlets, however I prefer letters. This way I can communicate and engage with every community member and ask for feedback.

If you were elected, what would you have liked to have achieved at the end of your four-year term?

Wow there are so many things hopefully I would like to achieve them all within the first four years so I can move on to other things. I don’t really want to go into much detail:

Local roads are in need of upgrades and have been neglected for far too long.

Implementation of wildlife corridors and native tree planting.

More community housing with low rental options.

New sustainable waste water facility.

Introduction of indigenous outdoor education

Fairy Kingdom (Child tourism done correctly)

Reduction in waste generated.

Implementation of Warrnambool Fashion Festival/Week

Are you a member of any political party? If so, which one?

No I am not currently. I have been a member of the Liberal Party and Greens many moons ago (For research purposes).

In the past two years, have you been a member of any local club, organisation or association?

No I have not.

Closing thoughts or ask and answer your own question here:

Thank-you Carol for the opportunity to be featured and for the really good questions you provided.

You can find Jacinta’s candidate Facebook page here.

CANDIDATE BRUCE CAMPBELL

10 QUESTIONS FROM THE TERRIER:

What three main skills could you bring to the Warrnambool City Council as a councillor?

I have governance, management and community engagement skills that can assist the Council.  I have been on the boards of two landcare networks for six and nine years respectively and been the chairman of one for nine years.

I have worked as a manager of programs and organisations for many years, including in roles where I advised and assisted elected committees to fulfill their governance obligations.  I am not a governance expert but I have a good general understanding of governance issues.

As a manager I have overseen the finance, staff and activities of a large number of programs and projects for decades, including construction, waste management, housing, arts and recreation, environment, community education and more.  I have a Master of International & Community Development that has effective community engagement at its core.

Most of my work since I started out working in local government in the 1980s has been in or focussed on the community sector.  As such I understand the importance of community engagement and the importance of doing it well.

Do you see any particular issues, projects or problems in Warrnambool that you would like to work on as a councillor?

I was involved in the Warrnambool 2040 plan and I support its goals under the broad headings of People, Place, Economy and Environment.  ]

The 2040 plan drew on the thoughts of more than 1000 residents and that amount of community involvement should be respected.  Of course all plans must be reviewed and renewed and I think the new council should be briefed on progress towards the W2040 goals and, with senior staff, ensure the plan maintains currency.

Having said that, the Covid pandemic has turned our world upside down, so the largest concern of the new council must be to have community recovery as its overarching goal.

Do you think the council could be more “open” with residents and if so, how?

The council could certainly be more ‘open’ and engaged with the community.  One idea might be to hold community forums in various parts of the municipality several times per year.  Senior staff and councillors could attend to directly answer questions from residents.  It would be great if these meetings could be held in Woodford/Bushfield, Allansford, Merrivale/South Warrnambool, Dennington, etc.

Ideally these meetings would be designed and facilitated by skilled and independent community engagement facilitators.

Council has a community engagement strategy and legislative requirements around this.  I would like to see this strategy improved and implemented uniformly and effectively across council’s operations.

The next 12 months are going to be challenging due to the impact of Covid-19 – do you have one or two key idea/s for how WCC could support residents and/or businesses?

I haven’t had a chance to study council’s rates system yet, but there may be the ability to alter some of the rates differentials relating to vacant land, industrial land, retail premises, etc. and offer some relief.

Our most vulnerable residents are likely to be suffering the most through this pandemic.  Elderly, disabled, those suffering mental health issues:  working with the various relevant organisations and agencies we can help these residents get through to the other side.

Do you have any ideas on where the council could cut costs, if necessary, to keep rates at the state cap?

I’d like to be fully briefed on the council budget before looking at where savings could be made.  I know that council always has more demands for spending than there is money for.  I also know that there is pressure from other levels of government such as cost shifting and unreliability of grant programs that makes budgeting difficult.

Preferences will decide who is elected to the council. Are you planning to preference most highly new candidates, exisiting candidates or you won’t be putting forward preferences:

I am planning to preference new candidates most highly.

If you were elected, what ways – if any – would you keep residents and ratepayers informed as an individual councillor?

I would be available for residents to contact me about anything.  I would be happy to discuss anything with residents when I see them at the various events I attend.

If you were elected, what would you have liked to have achieved at the end of your four-year term?

I would like to have supported our community to become more resilient, cohesive, self-sufficient and sustainable.  By ‘resilient’ I mean able to weather whatever storms come our way, whether they are a pandemic, a drought, economic instability or the impacts of climate change.

By ‘cohesive’ I mean that we understand that we are all in this together and despite our differences, we all have things to offer that will make us greater as a whole.  If we cannot bring the most vulnerable of us along on our city’s journey then we are failing as a community.

By ‘self-sufficient’ I mean that we have as many of the human, infrastructure, economic and environmental assets as possible within our reach.  We have an education system producing skilled, knowledgeable, talented citizens.  We have health and social support systems that create a thriving community.  We have the range of facilities to support our needs.  We have an environment that supports the native flora and fauna we share our municipality with as well as providing for our recreational and economic needs.

By ‘sustainable’ I mean all of the above does not deplete our human, infrastructure, economic or environmental assets.

Are you a member of any political party? If so, which one?

No.

In the past two years, have you been a member of any local club, organisation or association?

Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network (chairman).

Warrnambool Community Garden.

The F Project.

Closing thoughts or ask and answer your own question here:

We can’t change the past but we can make sure the future is a better place.  That’s what I will work for if elected.

You can find Bruce’s candidate Facebook page here.

Note: Bruce is yet to decide if he will be publishing a preference list but if he does, it will be published on The Terrier before voting opens on 6 October. Candidates can, of course, leave it purely up to the voter to decide how to list the candidates from 1 to 24.

CANDIDATE BEN BLAIN

10 QUESTIONS FROM THE TERRIER:

What three main skills could you bring to the Warrnambool City Council as a councillor?

My problem-solving ability – My ability to see an issue, identify the problem and come up with a solution. I think if you break down an issue you can find a solution. Research, understanding and listening to the community are how we can solve things together.

My Financial Knowledge – Understanding how to put together and read a budget. I own and run my own small business which has given me a good understanding of how a budget works. I also wrote and prepared a submission to the council budget this year outlining how we could fund a freeze on our rates, offer free parking in the CBD and waive user fees for businesses and sporting clubs in Warrnambool.

Being able to not only listen to issues but act – Being able to listen, understand and create an action plan to make the community’s dreams a reality. A good idea is a good idea no matter who comes up with it.

Do you see any particular issues, projects or problems in Warrnambool that you would like to work on as a councillor?

I believe the council has been lacking in offering financial relief for not only businesses but the entire community. I think we need to stop the continual increases in rates to offer everyone some relief. I don’t want to see the council break the rate cap again in 2022 as is currently proposed.

I want to see our general rubbish collection remain as a weekly service not move to fortnightly. I also don’t want to see us being charged for the replacement of damaged bins. We all pay enough now in our waste service charge, why add a bin replacement fee?

Finally, the maintenance and upkeep of our public assets, this was the main reason for breaking the rate cap. We need to have a long-term plan to fund this work through our current budget funding, not continue to hit ratepayers for more money.

Do you think the council could be more “open” with residents and if so, how?

Yes, the council could be more transparent and open. For the council to rebuild its trust with the community, they need to be more transparent. This can be done through the councillors being more open about decisions and not hiding behind confidentiality unless it is for commercial reasons.

Through policy and meeting procedures the council could be more open. Bringing back general business gives councillors a powerful tool to raise issues within the community.

I would also like to see the public have the ability to address the council before they vote on a particular agenda item. Moving public question time to the start of meetings before the items have been voted on. Have tea, coffee and sandwiches with the gallery after meetings instead of dinner and drinks out the back. All these measures could be used to “open” council to the community.

The next 12 months are going to be challenging due to the impact of Covid-19 – do you have one or two key idea/s for how WCC could support residents and/or businesses?

We need to be campaigning to bring more visitors to our great city. Now as we are looking to come out of lockdown, we should be aggressively pushing our city’s amazing attractions.

When metro Melbourne moves out of lockdown they will be looking to travel, and we want them to come here. More than likely they won’t be able to leave Victoria, this is an opportunity to give our local economy a real boost.

I think the council should also be looking for what financial relief they can offer to businesses and community groups concerning user fees. Many sporting organisations have not had a season this year, every business has felt some impact from the pandemic. Offer relief on grounds fees and shop fees to help every business and organisation make it through this tough time.

Do you have any ideas on where the council could cut costs, if necessary, to keep rates at the state cap?

I think we need to do an efficiency review of the council and all council business. We have seen the council continue to run without filling vacant roles, so can these roles continue to be done by others within the organisation.

Businesses need to be looked at closely but not impact the service they give to the community. Meals-on-Wheels is one that I wouldn’t want to see cut back, but there could be opportunities to make this service more efficient and give it the ability to service more of the community.

After the credit card scandal, I also would like to see stricter financial controls on employee spending which I think could also offer savings to the community.

Preferences will decide who is elected to the council. Are you planning to preference most highly new candidates, exisiting candidates or you won’t be putting forward preferences:

I will be preferencing all new candidates.

Looking at the field there are so many new and exciting candidates putting their hands up this election, I think it would be a shame to miss this opportunity to make a better Warrnambool.

If you were elected, what ways – if any – would you keep residents and ratepayers informed as an individual councillor?

I would continue to inform the community through being open to any member of the community through the phone, email, etc. I commit to the community that I will respond to issues and always try to help.

I have sent concerns to the current councillors and received no response; I don’t like it happening to me so I wouldn’t want it for anyone else. I will also promote the work of the council through social media.

If you were elected, what would you have liked to have achieved at the end of your four-year term?

I would like to see the trust be rebuilt between the council and the community. I would also like to see Warrnambool moving forward after the economic effects of the pandemic. I want to see the council be able to fund the care of its current assets through its current budget restraints.

I hope to see the harbour made into a safe boat launching facility for all users, currently, it is ranked one of the two worst ramps in the state. I will work towards being more proactive in securing funding for projects in our city to continue to see it move forward.

Are you a member of any political party? If so, which one?

I am not and have never been a member of any political party.

In the past two years, have you been a member of any local club, organisation or association?

I am the Vice President of the Warrnambool Ratepayers Association. Through this role, I have been active in raising the issues of community members. It’s been really special to be a part of this association helping groups and individuals with issues they have with the council.

I am also currently a member of the CFA and have been over the past 15 years. I was one of the first responders to the St Patricks Day fires. I find this has been a rewarding way to give back to the community.

Closing thoughts or ask and answer your own question here:

We have a chance to make a positive change this time within our city council. There are so many great candidates putting their hands up. We all have an exciting chance to move Warrnambool forward.

You can find Ben’s candidate Facebook page here.

Ben has also published his preference list which is below. This is the line-up Ben would like to see on the new council and if you agree, you can follow this card.

Terrier Tip Jar

Carol Altmann – The Terrier

And so it comes to a close.

Four years after the current Warrnambool City councillors were elected promising unity, transparency, positivity – and a bunch of other things that end in ‘y’ – they will hold their final public meeting tomorrow night (Monday 7/9) as a divided mess that has failed dismally to live up to that promise.

Ratepayers have not been told the truth about many things over these past four years – but the sudden dumping of the former CEO, Peter Schneider, is the Godzilla of the piece.

It is the mother-of-all finales to what has been four years of secrets and spin and it has split the council, because there is only so much bullshite one council can absorb, even when still smiling for Zoom.

As we limp toward the October election, we must demand the truth on this whole Schneider affair, because we are paying for it.

We want evidence of the claim, for example, that the CEO was failing to deliver on the council’s 2040 plan.

As it happens, tomorrow night’s hefty agenda contains a little coloured graph that shows an update on council “activities and initiatives” between April and June this year (see above).

Of the 145 things listed:

118 of them were finished;

21 are progressing;

5 are on hold;

and only one is not progressing.

This, of course, is at a time when Covid-19 had thrown the world into chaos.

Those figures don’t look like a failure to me, but more like council staff getting stuff done.

So what is the truth? Was the CEO making progress or not?

And, as I wrote on Friday, we have the wobbly story around the thousands of dollars in legal fees that were racked up by the four councillors who plotted the CEO’s demise.

Ratepayers were expected to pay for this legal bill, before it was torn up and the advice was suddenly pro bono (free).

Why was it free?

Cr Mike Neoh told the Standard on Friday that he believed there was a problem with the invoice.

A council spokesman told me on Friday that the council didn’t ask why.

How does Cr Neoh know what happened if the council officers don’t?

What is the truth of the matter?

Is the root of it, as MP Bev McArthur told Parliament last week, that the councillors had no authority to hire the lawyers in the first place?

Lastly, we’ve been told that Mr Schneider was also dumped because of the terrible community survey results and terrible staff survey results.

But planning for this coup started in February: Crs Gaston, Neoh and Owen were already making their moves.

They had begun to talk to people. Phone calls were being made. They just needed one more councillor to come on board.

That was in February – well before the results of the surveys were known.

On top of this, once Cr Cassidy signed on and the axe could be swung on 13 July, dozens of WCC staff swamped councillors with emails of support for the CEO.

So what is the truth?

Was the former CEO a friend or foe of the staff who hoped to see a better council than the one he inherited, which was wracked for years with allegations of bullying, ignoring staff surveys, favouritism, and a “mates club” mentality?

It’s a sweet irony that the council’s final meeting contains the annual report which opens with this:

“WCC is committed to transparent reporting and accountability to the community.”

Given the state of play, we can only take this as humour as the lights fade on this sorry chapter and we prepare to write a new one.