Name of ticket or independent: Ticket, Group G.

Are you a mayoral candidate? No.

Are you currently an Orange councillor? No.

Age: 63.

Family: Married for 42 years with five children.

What do you do for a living? Bottle shop attendant.

How long have you lived in Orange? 53 years.

What is the best part of living in Orange? Spring, summer and autumn, a relaxed lifestyle and friendly locals.

Why are you running for Orange City Council? Ownership of Orange City Council needs to be returned to the residents and ratepayers. A lot of mud has been slung at the current council, but I do not wish to engage in that process. If elected I would like to be part of a council that is predicated upon looking forward with true collective purpose rather than looking backwards in panic.

How would you assess the performance of the current council? I think it’s unproductive to engage in subjective assessment of the current council’s performance. It is sufficient to say that the ratepayers want and need change in the composition of the current council. Not just change for the sake of change but change which will deliver for this community well beyond the next electoral cycle.

If elected, would you lobby to reduce, maintain or raise rates? If you would reduce them, which services or council undertakings would you eliminate to do so? If elected I will be advocating for a freeze on rates for the next two years. This will provide a small stimulus for struggling local businesses and ratepayers and is a minor concession we can extend to the whole community. The $20 million spent on speculative land purchases would more than adequately cover the cost of such a freeze. In addition, council are also sitting on substantial reserves to get us through future ‘rainy days’. We are saying it’s already raining here in Orange so let’s start pumping a portion of that money back into the local community.

Council has budgeted $17 million for roadworks in the next road-building season. Is this enough? Which roads should get priority? Orange is a tough climate and a tough terrain for road building but pre-Northern Distributor Road councils were still able to achieve the task. No amount of money spent on roads will ever be enough until council and the ratepayers agree to commit the funds required for a proper concrete base with a hot mix surface. New stretches of road at Bathurst and Lithgow are testament to this fact. As far as we are concerned every road in Orange should be a priority but we want to see them built or repaired using a 21st Century approach and technology.

What is your plan for the Northern Distributor Road? I will not be engaging in playing the blame game over the Northern Distributor Road (NDR). It was a necessary evil and it is what it is. I will, however, be strongly advocating that the ratepayers of Orange should no longer be burdened by the need to provide substantial funds towards repairs and ongoing maintenance. The NDR is not a simple convenience for ratepayers and residents to get from one side of town to the other. The traffic figures indicate that it is also, by default, subject to an unanticipated volume of both intrastate and interstate traffic and should be considered as State and Federal infrastructure. As such it deserves a significant amount of funding from both State and Federal governments.

Do you agree with the industrial re-zoning at Orange airport? What should the space be used for in the future? I do not agree with the industrial re-zoning at Orange airport. The idea of building an industrial ghetto on top of a sensitive water catchment zone in extremely close proximity to the aerial business and tourism gateway to Orange is a Third World proposal that is neither viable nor sustainable when all factors are considered. The amenity of long-term local landholders has also been ignored in this process. Orange is already well served by at least four industrial precincts and prime agricultural land is disappearing at the rate of knots. The space would be best returned to its original purpose – prime agricultural land

What specific uses for the former Electrolux factory will you pursue or support? I will support any proposal for the former Electrolux factory which demonstrates long-term and environmentally-sustainable outcomes for Orange. Such proposals would need to be accompanied by an Economic Impact Statement which illustrated a flow-on effect benefiting small businesses and creating additional employment around town.

Do you agree with real estate agents and property developers being on council? Why or why not? I am on the record as being against real estate agents and developers sitting on council. It’s not a personal attack. It’s a preventative maintenance/risk mitigation policy. In a democracy there has to be a firm dividing line between business and government. Voters become very disenchanted with councilors and politicians when they suspect that line has become blurred. Business is best left to the private sector. The duty of council is to protect and serve the ratepayers and residents.

What are the best ways council can help businesses prosper in the city? A good start would be our proposed two-year freeze on rates for struggling small businesses. Council can best assist local businesses by not forgetting that local business is based on local people. Council definitely needs to redirect its tendering and procurement activities to benefit local suppliers, employees, apprentices, trades people and trainees. Council can also help businesses in this city by presenting a united front for the benefit of all and a collective commitment to building today the infrastructure and services required for all locals well into the future.

Is there enough parking in Orange? If not, where should additional car parks be constructed? Whether there is enough parking or not needs to be established by research, not anecdotal evidence. If further parking is deemed to be required it must be owned fully by council or provided by the larger private developments as part and parcel of such developments.

Do you support the proposed purpose-built sporting complex council has acquired land for to the north of the city? Orange already has three major sporting precincts which could be brought up to scratch for a fraction of the estimated cost of this proposal. Wade Park, as the historical sporting precinct, needs to be updated, not downgraded. Unless the sporting complex can attract at least six major events each year it will simply become yet another white elephant subsidized by ratepayers. The new sporting complex should only be built if and when it can be proven that: a) ratepayers will not, once again, be forced to pay any money towards it; and b) there is a guarantee of no impact upon any businesses currently operating in Orange’s CBD.

Are there any major projects you would champion if you elected? The biggest problem with ‘major’ projects is they are code speak for rates increases and a further burden on already struggling ratepayers. Orange is currently well on the way to being serviced by major projects. Our next council needs to refocus, initially, on providing the basics for ratepayers. If elected my immediate focus will be roads (including footpaths and cycleways), rates, rubbish, local jobs and local businesses. We need to resolve, once and for all, the problems plaguing the Northern Distributor Road but using State and Federal grants to do it. A strictly scheduled maintenance programme needs to be initiated for all our other roads. Rates need to be frozen for the next two years to give all in this town some breathing space. Weekly red bin service must continue. Council needs to assist in the creation of local jobs and supporting local businesses by changing its tendering and procurement processes. Council must use local suppliers, local tradies and local contractors. We need to increase the component of apprentices and trainees in the council workforce. Only once we have Orange humming again can we start to focus on major projects.