Candidate Questionnaire

2024 LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

VIC

This is a voluntary questionnaire for all candidates in the 2024 Vic Council Elections to take. It is about declaring your values as a candidate.

It is also about your hopes and focus for Council if you are elected.

This is not designed to lock any candidate into a binding position on any item that will come to council in the future, and it is intended to guide the community on what kind of values you would bring to the council.

It is designed to make your candidacy transparent.

Questions marked with * are compulsory - most are not.

If you cannot decide - you can leave the answer blank or write your own in the free text at the end.

Council watch will publish your answers.

If you do not complete it - we will publish that too.

First name

Last name

Phone

Which Council are you running for? (drop down selection)

Which ward are you running in? Type it here (if N/A leave blank)

AS A CANDIDATE....

These statements are designed to give you some key value-based statements to pick the BEST response from YOUR view. (There is no right or wrong answer).

Membership of a political party is deemed under Privacy laws as sensitive information - by answering, you do so of your own volition.

If you resigned party membership, what year?

I believe Council SHOULD provide services to the community: (pick one)

As their primary responsibility

In addition to the development of social policies, rules, and enforcement actions.

I do not know

I believe Rates should: (pick one)

Be increased as permitted by State gov each year

Should be frozen in the 2025 year and reduced in following years where possible

Should NOT be reduced

Council Should always be looking to reduce by being efficient

I believe Rate capping: (pick one)

Is vital and must remain unchanged

limits the income a council can grow and invest in infrastructure, so should end

Is unfair on Councils

I do not know

I believe Council: (pick one)

Should focus on Local matters only and stay out of State, Federal or international issues as much as it can

Can also focus on State, Federal and/or international matters equally

Can do whatever it wants to

I do not know

ALL Council expenditure should be: (pick one)

Disclosed as required by legislation

Disclosed in as much detail as possible

Provided in a high-level summary because too much detail is wasted

A candidate should live in the WARD they seek election (pick one)

YES - they must live in the area they want to represent (I live in the ward I am running for)

NO - so long as they live in the Municipality or own Property there

I do not mind either way

As a candidate:

I WILL accept donations from Political Parties

I WILL NOT accept donations from Political Parties

As a candidate:

I WILL accept donations from Developers

I WILL NOT accept donations Developers

As a candidate:

I WILL accept donations from Unions

I WILL NOT accept donations from Unions

Councillors are better if (pick one)

They are from a political party and declare it publicly

They are affiliated with a political party but do not declare it (it's a private matter)

They are not affiliated at all with a political party but are open to Join one whilst a Councillor

They are not affiliated with a political party and refuse to join one whilst they are a Councillor

Council CEO's and Executives should have Public KPI's tied to their remuneration and their results should be visible (pick one)

YES - public money equals public accountability

NO - these are private employment matters

I do not mind

I do not know

I believe Councillors (pick one)

Should always follow guidance of Council Officers and expert Consultants - they know best

Should vote according to their personal conscience irrespective of Council/Public influence

Should make decisions in the best interests of their community regardless of their personal views

Should make decisions in the best interests of their community according to their personal views

As a candidate, I believe Australia Day should be handled by Council: (pick all you agree with)

by Celebrating with all things "Australian"

by holding a Day of Mourning in line with anti-Colonialist discourse

by holding a day where we allow everyone to celebrate as they wish

by advocating to move the date

by cancelling every event

I believe that Climate change (pick all suitable to you)

Is the existential threat to mankind and Councils must make it their PRIORITY

Does not generally belong in Local Councils (it is mostly a State/Federal issue)

Is something Councils should consider in rational and practical ways without throwing money away

Is an issue that Councils should ask the community about before spending public money

Is a made up problem and no council money should ever be spent on it

Councils should address by spending ratepayers money on Carbon Credit Schemes

My campaign is funded by: (pick all suitable)

Me alone

Me and Family/Friends

I accept donations from the Public

I am fundraising for my campaign

I may take funds from large companies

I will not take ANY funds from large companies

I will accept funding from a political party

IF I AM ELECTED:

This is a series of questions and value-based statements of what you would hope to deliver if elected.

If elected, I will focus on Local Issues and avoid Federal and International Issues as much as possible?

YES

DEPENDS ON THE ISSUE

If elected, I will advocate that annual customer satisfaction surveys are considered, and the annual plan is devised to address performance gaps

YES

I DO NOT KNOW

If elected, I pledge to advocate that the Council 4 Year Strategic Plan incorporates service delivery standards.

YES

I DO NOT KNOW

If elected, I will advocate that all overseas/interstate travel must be approved by the Council in a public meeting

YES - the public should see it

YES - but I will not support any overseas travel

I DO NOT KNOW

If elected, I will advocate that Council publishes ALL Councillor and Staff Expenditure on the Councils Website every Quarter

YES

I DO NOT KNOW

If elected, I will advocate to (pick one)

Leave staffing and organisational resources SOLELY to the CEO

Advocate to set annual reductions and efficiency measures on staffing levels

Advocate to conduct an organisational review to reduce duplication and waste in staff resources

Advocate to increase staff levels, as Councils need more staff

If elected, I will advocate that Council implements a Councillor voting register on Councils website (to show how EVERY Councillor voted on each item in the minutes of each meeting)

YES

UNSURE

If elected, I will always remain professional on social media, in the Council chamber, and in all dealings in the Council. I will always treat the community with dignity, courtesy and respect.

YES

UNSURE

If elected, I will ensure I respond to communication from community members (unless the sender is defamatory or abusive)

YES

UNSURE

COUNCIL PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY HUB

What is a Council transparency hub?

The LINK HERE will lead you to Frankston Council who has been the FIRST Council to implement this.

The cost is about $250K which is LOW to enable a deep level of public transparency. Please visit the link and look through the data the public can see (which other councils do not provide).

Data published on the Transparency Hub includes:

detailed financial records from Council and its stakeholders
asset management data (Frankston’s Capital Works Program)
procurement data (>$200k) and more.

This online portal lets you explore and visualise data, providing an overview of Council’s decision-making and activities. The hub enables people to look inside Council and see much more detail in a transparent manner. It removes the ability for Council to "spin or hide" as the data is real time.

If elected, I will advocate for a Council Transparency Hub where all information is displayed openly on the council's website

YES

I DO NOT KNOW

If elected, I will advocate for Councillor Briefing meetings (which are closed to the public & between Councillors and Staff) should be:

Livestreamed so the public can see what councillors and officers say (except confidential items)

have transcripts made public (except confidential items)

have high level minutes published

Refuse the public to know - Councillors need to talk privately to staff

I do not know

BACK TO BASICS PLAN

What is a back to basics plan?

The LINK HERE explains what a BACK TO BASICS PLAN is, and how it can ensure residents have a say in Council priorities and funding. To be clear we have included the word ADVOCATE as it is non-binding and does not create a legal contract or promise to do anything. It is about the values you will approach the role with. This enables a Councillor to always make decisions on all the facts and information at the time.

If elected, I will advocate for a Back-to-Basics action plan as part of the Council 4 Year Plan to measure service delivery outcomes on CORE Council Services

YES

UNSURE

What is your pitch to voters? Why should they vote for you?

Signature

I agree to the terms & conditions - Council Watch will publicise your answers against your profile on our website

Alpine

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Ararat

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Ballarat

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Banyule

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Bass Coast

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Baw Baw

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Bayside

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Benalla

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Bendigo

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Boroondara

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Brimbank

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Buloke

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Campaspe

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Cardinia

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Casey

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Central Goldfields

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Colac Otway

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Corangamite

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Dandenong

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Darebin

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East Gippsland

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Frankston

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Gannawarra

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Geelong

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Glen Eira

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Glenelg

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Golden Plains

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Hepburn

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Hindmarsh

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Hobsons Bay

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Horsham

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Hume

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Indigo

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Kingston

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Knox

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Latrobe

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Loddon

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Macedon Ranges

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Manningham

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Mansfield

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Maribyrnong

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Maroondah

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Melbourne

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Melton

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Merribek

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Mildura

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Mitchell

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Moira

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Monash

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Moonee Valley

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Moorabool

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Mornington Peninsula

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Mount Alexander

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Moyne

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Murrindindi

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Nillumbik

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Northern Grampians

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Port Phillip

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Pyrenees

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Queenscliffe

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Shepparton

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South Gippsland

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Southern Grampians

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Stonnington

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Strathbogie

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Surf Coast

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Swan Hill

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Towong

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Wangaratta

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Warrnambool

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Wellington

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West Wimmera

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Whitehorse

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Whittlesea

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Wodonga

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Wyndham

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Yarra City

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Yarra Ranges

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Yarriambiack

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