Name of ticket or independent: Independent.

Are you a mayoral candidate? No.

Are you currently an Orange councillor? No.

Age: 30.

Family: Single; parents, grandparents; four nephews and a niece aged between 3 and 8.

What do you do for a living? Recently completed studying post-graduate IT at CSU, currently a jobseeker.

How long have you lived in Orange? From infancy until I moved to Bathurst for uni; lived and worked there for around 10 years, then back to Orange two years ago.

What is the best part of living in Orange? The small-town feel.

Why are you running for Orange City Council? To maintain and restore the close urban/rural mix that seems to be waning over time, which would help to revitalise the shopping districts; and to make sure there’s decent services for ratepayer’s money.

How would you assess the performance of the current council? Mixed. The museum and proposed new conservatorium and planetarium, for example, are good projects if quite flashy, and the upcoming bridge duplication at Forest Road isn’t before time. The Northern Distributor Road and the airport industrial park … not so much. There’s been a general lack of transparency, which is a major problem.

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? Rates do seem quite high, but it is hard to point to specific things that could be cut. The new council needs to go through the accounts with a fine-tooth comb to make sure ratepayers are getting value for money across the entire budget.

Council has budgeted $17 million for roadworks in the next road-building season. Is this enough? Which roads should get priority? That is a quite substantial sum, and if it isn’t enough then there is something deeply, fundamentally wrong with our roads that needs to be fixed. Priority should be given to the most damaged roads and the highest-traffic ones, which are often (but not always) the same.

What is your plan for the Northern Distributor Road? Council promises us that the distributor is fixed once and for all. If that turns out to be wrong – again – then there should be a full, transparent, public enquiry to find out why it keeps breaking and how to fix it. This would also involve going back to the original traffic study to find out why there’s a five-fold discrepancy between the estimated and actual traffic levels.

Do you agree with the industrial re-zoning at Orange airport? What should the space be used for in the future? No, I don’t agree with the rezoning; the very limited justifications that have been made for it simply aren’t good enough. I think the land should remain agricultural, although there may be some room for much more limited redevelopment for uses that very directly support the airport, but it should be brought on by public interest by potential investors – not try to preempt it.

What specific uses for the former Electrolux factory will you pursue or support? In general, I think council should be open-minded about which specific businesses might come to town. The factory could be reused directly as a single large-scale industrial facility, or it could be refitted into several smaller scale mixed industrial/commercial tenancies, or a mix, and too much focus on one at the expense of the others risks prolonging the building’s vacancy.

Do you agree with real estate agents and property developers being on council? Why or why not? Council needs to represent a good cross-section of the skills and professions of the city, so I wouldn’t support any law saying that these people are not allowed to run for election. However, many voters have taken issue with particular councillors having to declare conflicts of interest on too many issues to effectively do their jobs, which is clearly a valid concern. I would support council providing, via their website, an easily searchable reference for how councillors have voted on various decisions and when they have declared a conflict, to give voters an easy way to measure the performance of their councillors.

What are the best ways council can help businesses prosper in the city? Businesses, and especially retailers, live or die on foot traffic. Make the city, and especially the commercial districts, much more walk-able and have less exclusive focus on the car, and the whole town will become that much more vibrant.

Is there enough parking in Orange? If not, where should additional car parks be constructed? This is another issue that walk-ability can help with. It’s undeniable that our car parks are under pressure, but more car parks aren’t necessarily the solution – or, at least not the entire solution. Provide more opportunity to get places some other way than by driving, and more cars will stay at home even while their people don’t.

Do you support the proposed purpose-built sporting complex council has acquired land for to the north of the city? I certainly support more amenities for north Orange and for our other satellite suburbs, but the proposed location for this particular one seems a bit misguided. Ideally, it would be closer to other amenities and residential areas, again for walk-ability. A better solution might be to work with Waratahs to upgrade their facilities.

Are there any major projects you would champion if you elected? A pedestrian plaza for the CBD; an extra entrance on the north side of the Orange Botanic Gardens; major improvements to council’s website.