Name: Andrew Pull

Affiliation: Independent

What is your family situation: Married to Kylie Pull, my son Callum Pull (20) is at university, and my daughters Holly (14) and Annie (12) are both at school in Canowindra.

How long have you lived in the Cabonne area: We moved here March 27,1999.

Most important issues: All issues related to Cabonne are important to me, but more specifically, listening to each individual in the Cabonne community to implement their master plans and infrastructure upgrades for their communities. For too long, I've witnessed pen-pushers - living in one town - talking councillors out of upgrades for another town. The people that live there know what they need and it's time to support them. Secondly, tourism through events; there's no better way to boost small businesses than to bring tourists in to our towns.

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Why should you vote for me: I love where I live, so I have enormous pride in being part of Cabonne. I have a proven record of making a difference and getting the job done; at a community level as a volunteer in numerous committees already. I've been successful in receiving over $3.5 million dollars in grant funding for infrastructure and events in my current committee roles; and will look to bring that to all of Cabonne. Most importantly, I'm honest; and ratepayers and volunteers need honesty. If it can't be done, I'll say it, rather than make statements that cannot be kept or give false hope; you'll get the truth, not just a political answer.

Roads and infrastructure: Road safety is the defining factor here. I see announcements of record-spending on roads, but like every ratepayer, I wonder why we see a good bit of road tarred and maintained when it's in good condition, but then see the worst roads get even worse. I'm really looking forward to getting involved by understanding these issues more and making a difference at a council level.

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Housing availability: While it's great to see people move to our villages, it needs to be strategic regarding the land available. There is room to establish housing, but across the East Coast of Australia, for example, the best farming land - which feeds our great country - has been built-out by housing developments. In Cabonne, we also have some of the best farming land in the country, so we need to make sure we don't build housing at the cost of sacrificing our prime farming land.

The redevelopment of Mount Canobolas: The proposal is at an early stage and while bringing people to our towns through events and tourism is important, I'd like to make a couple of points here. If I become a councillor, l will become a Cabonne councillor; which means I'll be representing our Cabonne ratepayers. Secondly, I wouldn't be making any decisions until I spoke to the neighbouring landowners and was able to see the plan firsthand and on site. I won't be a councillor voting from business papers or by looking at a map; I'll be getting out there to see and hear things for myself. I also won't be forgetting that culture and heritage is extremely important and would be sitting down with Indigenous consultant Kira-Lea Dargin.

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Water security: When I was a kid, there was an advertisement "water is life, don't waste a drop". Nothing has changed since and water security needs to be dealt with at a regional level by our elected delegates. As a councillor, it's a job - you need to do your homework, read the whole reports and research independent studies - not just rely on recommendations from bureaucrats that go around in circles. We need to be proactive and prepare now for the next drought.