Balance of farmland and growth focus of forum

The forum organised by the Committee for Drouin was attended by almost 40 people including five of the six candidates for the ward.

Jennifer Smith was the only one not in attendance.

Sitting councillors Debbie Brown and Tricia Jones and Keith Cook, Jessica O’Donnell and Shelley Wyatt were each given five minutes to briefly state their cases for election before a question session from the floor.

Electoral boundary changes that have created three wards, rather than the previous four, have resulted in the some parts of the former North and Mount Worth wards being added to the Drouin ward including the town of Longwarry and a number of rural districts.

Three councillors are to be elected for West ward.

In the outgoing council Cr Brown represented North ward and Cr Jones the Drouin ward.

Ms O’Donnell, Ms Smith and Mr Wyatt are standing for election in Baw Baw for the first time.

Mr Cook unsuccessfully contested the 2012 election.

As well as the population growth versus preserving agricultural land issue the other main concerns the audience believed a new council should address included handling of inquiries from the public by shire officers, engagement with the community, roads and drainage, power of council officers, local employment opportunities for young people.

In her presentation Cr Brown highlighted the importance of maintaining the shire’s agribusiness sector and especially the employment it provides, the importance of smaller towns and villages as well as the larger towns and of managing the continuing population growth.

She said she believed the planning the council had done would cater for a doubling of the population in the major towns while protecting agricultural land.

She said the previous council had made significant achievements including the Precinct Structure Plans for Drouin and Warragul that provide the frameworks and boundaries for the development of the two towns, implementation of a shire-wide footpath renewal program and development of master plans for all recreation and sporting areas.

When questioned there was general agreement among the candidates to managing development to protect farmland.

Ms O’Donnell raised the issue of shire staff’s handling of telephone calls from residents - “sometimes the calls aren’t answered and often there is no call back” as a key area for improvement, something taken up during question time.

When asked how important they believed that to be all of the candidates present rated it as 10 on a scale of 10 or as a high priority.

Reducing traffic volumes, especially trucks, in Princes Way in Drouin was raised as a key issue by both Cr Brown and Ms Wyatt during their presentations, Cr Brown later pointing to the PSP that had identified by-passes to address that in future as a good start.

Ms Wyatt also would like to see a community “hub” in Drouin for young people that don’t have connections with existing youth groups such as sporting clubs.

Ms O’Donnell wants more done to support local businesses and retailers, encouragement for people to shop locally and a strong focus on arts and culture.

She commended council for advancing plans to upgrade and extend the West Gippsland Arts Centre at Warragul.

Cr Jones said she initially stood for council eight years ago because she thought the community was not being listened to.

Council needs to continue to work with residents to ensure it is aware of people’s concerns and wants.

Roads throughout the shire are the main priority for Cr Jones who said this year’s customer satisfaction survey showed only 36 per cent of people believed them to be in a satisfactory condition.

Mr Cook was another critical of council’s communication with the community.

He cited the PSP for Drouin as an example where people should have been involved from the start of the planning.

The Committee for Drouin, of which Mr Cook is president, wasn’t asked what it believed was wanted, he said.

He said pathways should be given a high priority especially with the number of elderly people living in Drouin that rely on mobility scooters to get around.