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Wednesday 25 April 2012

2012 BVSC Council Elections - declaring my candidacy

Hi there,

I have spoken with my family, most of my old and new friends and of course my work colleagues, but now that the local Merimbula News Weekly has begun the countdown to the next local counicl elections it must be time to also publicly declare my intended candidacy for said upcoming political shindig....

Yippee you are all saying, hooray for that, what a relief, he's throwing his hat in for another public beating....actually I know that most people probably really don't care (about whether I am standing for election or not), but I do like to think so (sometimes) and ultimately you have to be in it to win it, right? :)

actually, anybody reading this blog might be thinking why (if not just bully for you, now go away)? but the why is a good question - why bother, what is my motivation, what's in it for me, what is my agenda, etc...

well, apart from the staggering fame and glory and the fabulous salary that comes with being a local councillor, not to mention always being able to jump to the front of the bar queue, my real policy is transparency...the council represents us, so why can't we know what is going on? why does our council make such weird decisions? what does the council actually have influence over, and what does the bureacracy really control? plus of course world peace, and a sustainable community made up of healthy, wealthy, educated members whom are the envy of everyone!

But no real 'policy' announcements or positions to make at this time (although anyone interested can of course read any of my previous posts to get a really solid feel for what I am all about).

However,  what I do intend to bring to the council table (if elected) is all of me: my professional and personal experiences, my ability to listen and consult, my ability to actually make decisions and get on with the job. To get things done, to do things fairly.

So if you like stability, the status quo, how things are, being kept in the dark, increasing your rates, watching the Snowy and Euro shires thrive whilst we squabble over who can best ruin tourism then don't vote for me. I'm not your person for that.

But if you want to disrupt the council, the behemoth bureacracy, to actually be represented, to know that someone is making decisions not on party policy positions or personal interests but what is good for the community overall, what might actually create opportunities for my childrens future, then vote for me. I am your person for that.

so all I need now is just a few hundred votes to get through the door (actually at least 800 or so would be ideal)...counting on you and your friends for that....

Oh, and here is a prediction - in the local Merimbula News Weekly (Wed25April2012) p5 has an article with 4 existing concillors 'undecided' if they will run again....as if.  They all will.

cheers :)

Pambula Hospital - what a sham! just what is the truth?

Well I wish I knew what the truth was. What I do know is this:

the local council now has diddly real influence in the decision making process for the new Federally and state funded hospital in Bega...although their input at the time when the location was not yet decided was probably more biased than it should have been. Any 'referendum' on the subject at the next local election will neither prove anything or any feasible path of action, apart from being far too late - the time to act was during the state election, but you missed your chance, and we don't get to vote again for another 3 years...wonder if this will still be a hot topic then?

Talking about the state election, we now have a new elected Liberal Government now doing exactly the same things that the old elected labour government did - closing Pambula hospital by stealth, by attrition, by arms length, by bureacrats, by spin, by 'budget measures', by splitting the community (and pitting us against ourselves) but ultimately by pure condescension - our state pollies just don't care becuase they really do believe that most of the local voters either believe the spin, are confused by the spin or they are either stupid enough or think they are rich enough to beleive that they or someone they love wont ever be so unlucky to need Pambula Hosptial and 'don't care' either way....and the sad reality is the pollies have been proven right in this thinking time and time again. I have seen our local state member support both sides of the Pambula Hospital debate with skill and expertise, and not a single person is calling him on his bluff. He said he would restore Pambula Hospital - and he hasn't - this is a fact. Who is to blame? Well, obviously the local member is, but we are too...who voted them in?

If you want real representation, don't vote for a party hack - vote for a local independant who wants what you want, not some faceless party member back in Sydney.