please find below my response to the BDN election Q&A forum for candidates, for 6th September (in advance - I may vary this response between now and the 6th...)
BDN Q&A due 10am Thursday 6 September 100-150words
Q: And a few from BDN readers (as requested in a recent
editorial of mine) – What importance/priority do you place on: Rural roads? On
Ecologically Sustainable Development? The idea of a planning commission independent
of government?
ANSWER
Prioritisation is difficult – without focus you can’t expect
to get things done, but achieving goals to the exclusion of new information is
just as bad. Our shire faces the uniquely regional problem of maintaining
services to a dispersed population, something our plans for the future must
address. If we stick to rates, roads and rubbish then a tug of war between
dwindling resources and increasing costs will be the result. It’s obvious that
we can’t hope for some other bureaucracy to save us - we need to become self
sufficient in meeting our needs and to pay for the services we want. Taking
risks, investing in innovation, attracting new industries to the shire like IT
and knowledge based services and properly valuing what is unique about where we
live will allow us to grow our resources and maintain our quality of life.
Paying for our services then becomes much easier.
cheers
Ivan
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