Another Anderson for South Ward

Today the selection process for Labor supported candidates for Moreland Council was concluded in the South Ward.

And I have emerged at the other end as one of the Labor supported candidates, so in fact another Anderson is running for Council in Brunswick.

More on this “another Anderson” business later.

Why have I decided to run? Well, for one I am not that happy with the quality of councillors on Council right now. There is the rare good councillor, but many of them leave much to be desired. I have been discontented by councillors who have gone out and advocated policies such as replacing trams with buses on Sydney Road, cutting funding for local festivals, closing community libraries. But mostly I have been discontented by opportunities missed. By the buck passing between different levels of government.

I would like a more positive focus from council. When a problem exists – like say the lack of childcare – I would like to see a attitude that rather then looking around for another level of government to blame, a attitude that says, “okay, so how can I, or we, work with other levels of government, or non government organisations to fix the problem”.

I think we, the people, deserve better from our political leaders. I don’t think we expect them to magically have all the answers, but I think the politics in Brunswick of the future is one of constructive political leadership.

So I am running because I am in the change business – I want to change the world, however naïve that may sound!

So where is the South Ward?

South Ward is one of three wards in the City of Moreland (inner northern suburbs of Melbourne). The geographic area it covers is almost all of Brunswick (including Brunswick East and West) with the exception of the north east corner.

South ward elects three councillors at the elections on 29 November 2008. At the last election it elected two Labor councillors and one Green.

What is this “another Anderson” business?

I am not the first Anderson to seek to represent the people of Brunswick at the municipal level.

My grandfather, Norman Anderson, was a local councillor for south west Brunswick from 1954 to a few years after I was born. He was also Mayor twice – in 1965 and 1968.

It was a different age, and a different time, and I suspect my political views would be substantially more to the left then his. But from “Pop” as well all called him I learn’t the value of hard work, the principles of service and the necessity to do good works.

If you want to know more about my grandfather, the Norm Anderson Trust (on which I sit on the board) check out their website http://www.normandersontrust.com.au/who-was-norm-anderson.htm

So what are your policies?

I don't plan to outline detailed policies right now - in the best tradition of political campaigns worldwide, but I will nominate a few areas I want to focus on:

• transport, parking and Sydney Road
• services for children
• sport, recreation and the use of parks and reserves
• affordable housing
• and figuring out how we make the planning system work to improve urban amenity.

All ambitious, and probably not achievable in a campaign let alone a term on council but their areas work talking about.

So how can others help?

What this space....... There is much ot be done and not enough time in which to do it!