The following questions have been asked, and we look forward to sharing responses with the community, once received.
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
Looking forward to reading and sharing the answers.
this post is now updated with the answers received from candidates who responded.
DIVISION 1
Sally Williams
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Absolutely accept the science of climate change
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
Absolutely, I have previously presented to Council ( about three months ago) on the necessity for council to declare an emergency. I was listened to respectfully, and although the Mayoral minute followed, this doesn't go far enough.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
1. Every policy and practice of Council should be measured against the yardstick of its effect on the carbon footprint,
2. A rapid transition to a carbon neutral Council (2030),
3. Examination of all redundant Council land re rewilding, forestation, and establishing wildlife corridors,
4. Enhanced Council funding for Landcare and other sustainability groups across the Shire and further support for Tamborine Mountain Botanic gardens,
5. The ceasing of all commercial (non-domestic) water extraction on Tamborine Mountain.
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
I am a member of Queensland Greens, and am standing as a Green in this campaign.
Nadia O'Carroll
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Absolutely
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
See Climate Change and the Decline of the Natural Environment on Nadia's website for more info. This motion was carried unanimously and consequently the mayor proposed a statement of intent regarding climate change.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
There are many important issues of concern with multiple initiatives and projects that may contribute to improvement – this is a general summary not a comprehensive list of all initiatives.
1. Biodiversity and habitat – conservation through land use planning, conservation partnerships, corridor regeneration, replanting
2. Climate change – emission reduction, mitigation and adaptation
3. Water – conservation, waterway rehabilitation such as riparian revegetation projects, reduction of runoff and erosion control
4. Waste and Pollution – commitment to recycling, waste reduction and innovative technologies
5. Education – encouraging the general public to become more aware of the natural environment, climate change, threats and ways they can assist even in small ways such as planting native trees, composting, recycling and reducing waste.
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
I am not a member of any political party.
DIVISION 5
Caz Osborne
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Yes , I do accept wholeheartedly the science of climate change. Climate science helps inform decisions by providing the best possible knowledge of climate outcomes and the consequences of alternative courses of action. I have signed up for #Climate Act Now for the private members bill to be lodged 23 March.
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
If elected I would not only support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim Region, I would be one of the champions for it. Whilst my knowledge maybe limited in all aspects of climate, I feel strongly that it’s up to all level of governments, individuals and corporations to declare a climate emergency and I would strongly support a declaration of climate emergency motion. Only in January this year did the current Council table a “climate change statement”, this in my personal opinion is a bad reflection and oversight on our elected members over the past eight years and possibly more.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
1. Discover what happened to Jason Gould’s audit he conducted in SRRC on greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 and the baseline created through his research,
2. Revision of policies that affect and direct climate change initiatives in Council,
3. Get other councillors and mayor opinions and feedback on climate change and commitment signing a Candidate Statement of Support,
4. From this encourage implementation including transparent monitoring, reporting and accountability of everyone in council,
5. Educate our community on their contribution through leading by example and strong leadership.
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
No I am not a member of any political parties nor shall I be in the foreseeable future.
Julie de Visser
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Yes, I agree the climate is changing.
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
I would rather support a well developed Scenic Rim Climate Strategy that had measurable outcomes.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
1. More recycling – wider range of items
2. More sustainable Council offices – power, water, paper etc
3. Electric car charge points (from solar)
4. Large scale composting – food and green waste (household and commercial)
5. Attract ‘clean’ niche Businesses to the Scenic Rim that have a sustainable, ethical model (eg Outland Denim)
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
No. I am a truly independent candidate.
MAYORAL CANDIDATES
Greg Christensen
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Yes - Please refer to my recent Mayoral Minute that received unanimous Councillor support. The first element in our Interim Statement of Intent embeds this as a foundation for future planning – across my business career I have been a key champion of putting balance back into business focus. IE demonstrating that sustainable success relies on ensuring the environment and social /community aspects are considered and maintained.
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
Not at this time - Again please refer to my Mayoral Minute regarding an Interim Statement of Intent concerning Climate Change as attached. In forming this positon I believed it was most important that we pursue a focus that educates and unifies the community to move forward. The position I proposed and has been adopted, is consistent with the key pragmatic components identified by peer Councils. I believed it was more important that we have our focus on the practical steps and actions that we should be getting on with in addition to those already in place.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
Again as per the Mayoral Minute, while there are many low level components that can be localised I believe we have some core focuses already in play that need to be given more investment before we add new ones, eg,
1. A big one for me is the zero avoidable waste to landfill agenda. Chairing the SEQ Waste Working party provides the opportunity to ensure we solve this in a way that is repeatable, process driven and also financially sustainable for our residents. Research shows that, apart from small localised volunteer initiatives, for this to be affordable it will require the collaboration of all of SEQ to have practical volumes to get the right investments and solutions.
2. Mitigating the impacts on our environment - we have already made strong headway with the joint commitment to resilient rivers – this program has the advantage of not only reducing harm but also providing additional suitable tree plantings to secure waterways and to add to our recovery of tree covering.
Our work with landowners and our own land footprints to increase tree cover are consistent with the widely recognised highest order benefit both in land surface cooling and increasing carbon extraction from the atmosphere. Both in our planning scheme and our renewal programs adding trees back into our towns and villages extends this while also encouraging more active movement.
3. Including energy and environmental efficiency into our design and implementation of our renewal programs – eg the current Boonah redevelopment shows the threads of this with covered parking, retention of shade trees and introduction of street trees. I also intend that we should include an electric vehicle charging station (hopefully solar powered) in the finished project, to encourage and support the community take up of eco friendly technologies. I am hopeful to expedite a network of these across the region and have been trying to gain State support to include us on the Electric Vehicle super highway.
As we build new structures, I expect these will also incorporate modern eco friendly materials, components and designs to be passive or positive. Our current buildings were assessed in 2017 and deemed not capable of safely accommodating solar power conversion (structural challenges), I expect such technology will be possible in new structures as we progress.
4. Encouraging and attracting new industries and adaptations – this is already happening - eg, multiple local investments planned or underway in bio-digestion based energy production to replace traditional energy sources. There is also an approved Solar Farm that is moving forward.
5. I would hope to get support to partner in hosting a Sustainable Housing Expo – I have held ongoing discussions with the National Housing Taskforce to explore different models for new housing estates that challenge traditional thinking and create socially and environmentally sustainable models that also satisfy affordable housing challenges. I believe there must be a better way to accommodate growing communities and rest more softly in the environment.
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
I am a member of the LNP – like any member of any organisation, this does not mean I support every position adopted.
As far as my role as Mayor goes, I have no political affiliation except the 'Best for Scenic Rim' Party. I stand for Mayor as a self-funded Independent candidate and have demonstrated already in this term that I will work constructively with other levels of government to get good outcomes for the region.
Tom Sharp
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
I live in the pursuit of knowledge and science plays a very important part in that. I have life experience (a mere unrecognisable spec in terms of time) and I try to take in as much science as possible including climate, especially around BIG stuff. There is sooo much going on around the globe it is difficult to hone in on certain areas – so, given limited time, hence why the BIG stuff. They are Ocean science for the simple reason our planet is 70% ocean and we have very little knowledge by comparison to what’s on land and secondly Sun science and what is being done at the study station in Roma. This work I find is truly remarkable in what is being uncovered and how little we actually know and what is being poured on us by the media. Secondary I think of the polar north and south and the relationship with the sun and how that keeps evolving along with the equatorial area. The latter is concerning from the point of view of human impact and that there is so little left yet nothing is being done.
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
No – Any leader worth their salt, from the highest level to the lowest understands the responsibilities of representation of the people. An 'emergency' is a declaration that everything else is dropped immediately to resolve that particular issue. People face the end of the world everyday through crime, domestic abuse, drugs, socio economic conditions, being vulnerable whether they be young, old, isolated either through geography or minority and so it goes. It is almost impossible to imagine that 'poor hungry' actually exists in this world today and every day discrimination by all levels of government continues unabated – even in our own region right in our very faces. I have spent the last few weeks with three completely separate cases of harrowing abuse right here in our own backyard that would bring you to tears. However the march of preservation of environment in this region must continue and there is so much that we can do to get back to a level near or close to where we were some 30 years ago before the massive footprint with not only the incredible human invasion that has moved in to this region but the impact that has been made with zero compliance in so many areas including the total relaxation of weed infestation seeing the region lose the fight on Johnsons grass, privot, tobacco bush, lantana and noxious weeds in general. We cannot give up but we must realise how much ground we have lost. Balance is key not emergency.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
1. Immediate – waste management initiatives along the lines of the Kalfresh precinct where they will develop a 10megawatt waste to power generation plant that delivers stable power in to the grid (European proven tech) – it is simply amazing what our people are doing throughout the region and council is being dragged rather than tapping in to it!!!
2. Review of the 'cash cow' taking of waste from Logan CC and also our own yellow bins that are supposedly re-cycled. Apparently there is an audit – I ask is the audit independent and how much is being recycled – why don’t we see it? Where is the tendering and why are we not aggressively looking at Kalfresh like measures – four years and a low level initiative for gas creation does not impress………………..
3. Economic development initiatives for SCT and other industrial precincts within the region – what is coming out of the economic development team within council? I haven’t seen the promotion of any form of 'sustainable industry' yet promotional opportunity is jumping up and down worldwide saying 'come and get me'. For example, one of the oldest industries in the world is the hemp industry (both textile and building products) and it is one of the fastest growing industries world wide. BMW only a few weeks ago announced the body of their 3i model will be built completely from 'hemp composite'. Hemp is the fastest growing crop in the world (six weeks – little water and grows like a weed), it is also a fantastic rotation crop. If a council researched and promoted the SCT precinct in collaboration with the state govt one could easily attract investment for a processing facility. I have had discussions with various large rural landholders who would happily trial growing. You don’t need black soil country and the cultivation lands around Kerry, Rathdowney, East and West Beaudesert along with country around Wild Pig Creek. This gives productivity to cultivation land now going to weed, processing and manufacturing jobs, distribution and marketing jobs along with support services such as transportation etc
4. Complete and immediate overhaul of our biosecurity plan with transparency (nothing coming out of council in terms of action and where we are with timelines and targets) with special regards to the big issues such as compliance for weed management and get on with it now – we have virtually lost the fight – this needs massive engagement with state and federal government the two largest landholders via national parks and defence who have created the most damage. The third largest landholder being council and the addressing the walkaway on verges and other lands where every weed under the sun has taken control with special regard to johnsons grass. Followed by critical species preservation, development ie bees and water management/security. The list is endless but we need to focus on the major impact areas as already mentioned.
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
No - Not a member of any party and never have been. I believe in conservative values and am libertarian in that i do not believe in government interference with our lives. Govt is there to support not hinder. I also don’t believe in party politics at the local level as it is about all the people in our region.
Chris Summers
1. Do you accept the science of climate change ?
Yes
2. If elected, would you support a declaration of climate emergency motion for the Scenic Rim ?
This would be something that would need the support of all Councillors and would need to be discussed as to what such a declaration would entail. I am fully supportive of the council moving to renewable energy and reducing its carbon footprint.
3. What are the top five initiatives you would look to implement to ensure a more sustainable Scenic Rim ?
1. Renewable energy plan for all council activities. This could also include supporting residents to source solar panels and/or helpful hints for saving energy
2. Solar panels on council owned buildings
3. Improve the recycling of waste materials which could involve waste recycling centre being established here in Scenic Rim
4. Replace council vehicles with hybrid or fully EV where appropriate
5. Reduce amount of pesticide used for weeds
4. Are you a member of a political party, and if so, which one ?
Was a member of Labor party which has now lapsed.
Well, I wish I was in Division 1.
ReplyDeleteNo answers from our Division I see.