Hi, my name is Carolyn. I have lived in Casey for over 24 years and never have I been more disgusted with any council than I am with our previous one.
The role of councilor is supposed to ensure the good governance of our assets. Instead, we saw our councilors place their political allegiance’s head of us, at our expense. Matters that should have been discussed in open meetings were made behind closed doors without accountability. Money that should have been spent on support programs, parks, community gardens (allotments) and fixing potholes, was spent on political promotions. Tales of political donations for favors and suitcases of money were exposed on tv, to our shame. Where is our last Mayor. The councilor’s role is not a platform for promoting political beliefs and seeking political donations to support their personal political career.
The 3 key issues I will advocate for are;
Good governance and risk management.
- Selection of independent members
- Training provided to members on risk management
- The inclusion of professional experts to address the growing needs for cyber security
- Risk Committee reports being regularly made to council and published online for us all to view.
No council spending on political matters and minimal spending on external consultancy (often politically influenced).
Building community through low-cost organised activities open to all residents
The last Casey Council showed no interest in good governance, and no desire to protect our assets and deliver services. It was and is the role of the Risk Committee to have identified and protected us from councillors using their positions to profit at our expense. There were many warning signs. Perhaps if these issues had been raised earlier than more drastic actions would not have been taken. The quality of those on the Risk Committee needs to be improved through;
I do not believe rate payers monies should be spent on political advertising. I do not believe rate payers monies should be spent on political advertising especially due to the wide-ranging political views within Casey that are not necessarily reflected in the elected councillors. The last Casey Council is a prime (disgraceful) example.
This can easily be achieved and much is already being done though not effectively advertised. I was surprised to find a wide range of free morning teas being run in the Cranbourne West Community Centre and would like to see more of these being offered at other community centres. Cheap to run but very effective at building communities.
Council should make more money available for these types of activities and dedicate a webpage to advertise them. To qualify for council funding, they do need to open to all members of our communities and openly advertise.