NOT sure who to vote for in the Knox council elections? We put the tough questions to all candidates to help you make up your mind - read on for their answers. All candidates have been sent the same questionnaire. We will post their answers as we receive them - check back here regularly for updates.
FRIBERG WARD
Includes: Knoxfield and Upper Ferntree Gully
Incumbent: Andrew Walter (since 2008)
Number of registered voters: 12,945
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At the 2008 election:
Registered voters: 12,945
Voter turnout: 10,292 (79.51 per cent of the total enrolment)
Formal votes: 9540
Informal votes: 752
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Name: Lisa Cooper
Suburb of residence: Ferntree Gully
Occupation: Stay @ Home Mum
Ward nominated for: Frieberg
How long have you lived in Knox? 10 years
Have you run for council/ been a councillor before, or any other level of government? If so, please list details (where, when, length of time, etc). I ran in Frieberg Last Election
Are you/have you been a member of a political party? If yes, which party? If no, with which party do you most identify? I am not a member of any party but would be most identify with Labor
Are you or have you ever been a member of a political interest or lobby group? No
If you are elected, will you commit to remaining a councillor for the whole term? Yes
What is your campaign budget? Who is funding your campaign? Who has paid for your nomination fee? I paid my own fee and will spend an adequate amout
Who will you direct your preferences to? after reading your story on Andrew Walter regarding the funding he got from Council (our money) for a Football Club not in his Ward but where he is involved I have decide to put him last
I havent decided who i will put Second yet but Walter will definately be Last
Describe your involvement in the local community. Local Mothers Groups and Kinders
What do you think being a councillor involves? A lot of hard work
What do you think are the most important issues for your ward? Overdevelopment and Rates
What do you think are the most important issues facing Knox?
- Innapropiate Development
- Lack of youth facilities
- Rates way too High
There has been much debate about development in Knox recently, particularly in Boronia and green wedge zones. What are your thoughts on the future of planning in these areas? Are there any other areas’ future development needs to be addressed? Why? Inadequte Planning Controls gives developer green lights to do as they please, a good councillor would have fought harder to stop the inappropiate
Development in Mountain gate.
What would you suggest the council could to do continue to advocate for better public transport in Knox (ie. the Knox Tram and Rowville Rail)? I support the Tram to Knox and the rail to Rowville
There has been strong debate recently about the extent of sport funding in Knox. Do you think sport deserves significant money or are there other groups or sectors in Knox who also deserve more funding? If so, who? Knox has an Ageing Population there needs to be a better plan when Council are spending our money
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Name: Tony Holland
Suburb of residence: Rowville/Lysterfield
Occupation: Bank Director & Small Business Owner
Ward nominated for: Frieberg
How long have you lived in Knox? Most of my life
Have you run for council/ been a councillor before, or any other level of government? If so, please list details (where, when, length of time, etc). I ran in Frieberg at the last Council Election I received over 3000 votes, the Councillor who got Elected received under 2000. because of Preference DEALS I was unsucessful
Are you/have you been a member of a political party? If yes, which party? If no, with which party do you most identify? I am Running as An Independant but am a member of the Liberal Party
Are you or have you ever been a member of a political interest or lobby group? I am a paid up member of the KRA (Knox Ratepayers Association) and a paid up member of the Victorian Ratepayers Association
If you are elected, will you commit to remaining a councillor for the whole term? Yes
What is your campaign budget? Who is funding your campaign? Who has paid for your nomination fee? I will be Fiscally Responsible with my Campaign Budget as i will be with our money if elected I have paid my own Nomination fee
Who will you direct your preferences to? At the start of the Campaign I gave my Word to Blair that I would put him second. I will Honor this Commitment
Describe your involvement in the local community. As a Director and Board member of the Bendigo Bank Ferntree Gully and Rowville I am extremely active in numerous Local Clubs as well as Sporting and associated activities involving my 4 Children
What do you think being a councillor involves? A person who serves their Community First
What do you think are the most important issues for your ward?
- Rates Rates and Rates
- Height Limit on Developments Mountain Gate
- Redevelopment of Eildon Park Cicket Club & Rowville Juniors
- Upgrade of Mountain Gate Shops
- More Assistance for Seniors
What do you think are the most important issues facing Knox?
- Lack of Adequate Public Transport
- We need Rail to Rowville
- We need to extend the tram all the way to Mountain Gate
- We need to fix the Hydrotherapy Pool at Boronia so it can be access properly by the Elderly and the Handicapped
There has been much debate about development in Knox recently, particularly in Boronia and green wedge zones. What are your thoughts on the future of planning in these areas? Are there any other areas’ future development needs to be addressed? Why? Green Wedges are not an issue for Frieberg ward but overdevelopment of Mountain Gate and Knoxfield are a huge concern
What would you suggest the council could to do continue to advocate for better public transport in Knox (ie. the Knox Tram and Rowville Rail)? As i said before Rail to Rowville and Tram all the way to Mt Gate
There has been strong debate recently about the extent of sport funding in Knox. Do you think sport deserves significant money or are there other groups or sectors in Knox who also deserve more funding? If so, who? I think Council need to Spend our Rates properly and on a needs Basis, whether that be Sport or the Elderly or the local Kinders
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Name: Blair Darragh
Suburb of residence: Rowville
Occupation: Systems Analyst / Information Technology
Eighteen years experience working in the information technology field with a focus on environmental and geographic information systems. I have project, systems and software engineering experience working on small, medium and large scale technology systems and projects in Australia and overseas. I hold a Master of Applied Science degree from RMIT University. I am a Senior member of the Australian Computer Society and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (London).
Ward nominated for: Friberg
How long have you lived in Knox? 10 years
Have you run for council/ been a councillor before, or any other level of government? If so, please list details (where, when, length of time, etc). No
Are you/have you been a member of a political party? If yes, which party? If no, with which party do you most identify? Yes, I am a member of the Liberal Party.
Are you or have you ever been a member of a political interest or lobby group? No
If you are elected, will you commit to remaining a councillor for the whole term? Yes
What is your campaign budget? Who is funding your campaign? Who has paid for your nomination fee? Minimum expense required to print flyers, posters and how-to-vote cards. My campaign is self funded and I paid for my nomination fee.
Who will you direct your preferences to? I have registered my preferences and I will direct my preferences to Andrew Walter.
Describe your involvement in the local community. I am involved in the following community groups in Knox: Knox Historical Society; Rowville Community Reference Group; Gardens for Wildlife Program; Ferntree Gully Masonic lodge; CityLife Church, Wantirna; Sporting and associated activities involving my children.
What do you think being a councillor involves? A councillor is someone who serves their local community and is accountable to their community. A councillor needs to work cooperatively as part of a team with other councillors that form the Council. A councillor provides input into policy formation agreed by the Council which is then acted on by the Chief Executive Officer of the council. As a councillor, we need to consider what is in the best interest of the Knox City Council as a whole.
What do you think are the most important issues for your ward? Rate rises, appropriate development, services for the aged and people who have a disability and maintenance of basic infrastructure.
What do you think are the most important issues facing Knox? The Knox City Council needs to be sustainable across economic, environmental and social areas.
The rate base of the council is the main revenue stream and this has to be managed carefully to ensure council services are not affected and cause rates to be unduly increased without justification. The population of Knox is ageing so this will affect the type of services that will need to be provided by the Council in the future.
Also, disability services are also a very important issue for the Council. Supporting local business as this will provide opportunity for people to not only live in Knox but also to work in Knox.
Transportation is important to the future of Knox which I discuss below.
There has been much debate about development in Knox recently, particularly in Boronia and green wedge zones. What are your thoughts on the future of planning in these areas? Are there any other areas’ future development needs to be addressed? Why? Development is important for Knox and it should be appropriate development which considers the opinions of local residents and limits its impact on the environment. An issue that is important to me is balancing development with the environment and this can be achieved by good planning and design. Appropriate development will mean that the infrastructure of Knox will be improved; it creates jobs, provides opportunity for people to move into and within the Knox area and can ease of the cost of housing affordability.
What would you suggest the council could to do continue to advocate for better public transport in Knox (ie. the Knox Tram and Rowville Rail)? As a resident who drives a car and catches public transport in Knox (bus, train) I am in favour of the Council working towards improved transportation in Knox City. I am in favour of both the Knox Tram and the Rowville Rail proposals and these will have many benefits. The council needs to promote the social, economic and environmental benefits that both these proposals will have to the local area. There has been strong debate recently about the extent of sport funding in Knox.
Do you think sport deserves significant money or are there other groups or sectors in Knox who also deserve more funding? If so, who? I am in favour of funding local sport. Sport needs to be supported as there are not only health benefits but many social benefits as it provides opportunity for people of all ages to meet one another and builds links in the community. As someone who participated in sport as a teenager (athletics and football), younger people need access to sporting clubs and facilities. I believe that the funding needs to be balanced with other cultural/social activities available in Knox without detriment to non-sporting activities. The focus should be on opportunity for Knox residents to be involved in as many organisations that can be reasonable funded.
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Tony Holland
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Lisa Cooper
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Andrew Walter
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Tony Richardson
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Deborah Roger