I was born at the Base Hospital and spent my childhood growing up in Wangaratta. When I completed VCE I headed to Melbourne, and University. I acquired a Bachelor degree in Health Sciences and a Master degree of Speech Pathology, and around my studies managed to squeeze in a bit of time spent in various countries overseas—expanding my horizons—before returning to Wangaratta, recognising it as a good place to put down some roots. I started an organic vegetable farm 5 minutes out of Wangaratta, where I live with my wife and our daughter.
I stood for council because I feel strongly that an increased focus in particular areas will lead to better outcomes for our community. Starting with a rigorous and deliberative approach to engaging our community in deciding what next, I hope to play my part in working with colleagues and community to achieve gains, over the duration of my term, in some of the following:
- Appropriate respect and consideration for sustainability in all the systems we establish and maintain. If we aren’t building sustainable systems—systems that will last—one can only wonder why we are building them in the first place.
- The involvement of diverse and representative, everyday community members in the decision-making process. I would like to see the sort of people you don’t normally see involved, getting involved. Barriers need to be removed to welcome people to the table, supported and enabled, to contribute--so all voices are heard.
- Always looking toward the science and evidence we have on-hand to guide us through a considered and collaborative decision-making process.
Now I am an elected representative begins the hard work of finding a way forward to achieving some of the above, and support our municipality to grow—not necessarily in that sense of getting bigger, but in getting richer and fuller.
To play my part in achieving any of this, I need you. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled as I get about the place, but I’ll no doubt miss things along the way. Don’t hesitate to make yourself familiar. Get in touch for a yarn—it doesn’t have to be about anything specific, we can work out how it fits into the picture. Together we might even figure out how we can paint an even brighter picture—one that properly captures us all.
So get involved—government is everyone’s business.