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Council Elections Candidate Questionnaire

NSW VOTERS - if you want to know how your Council candidates answered - just submit your email and choose your local Council. More than one?
You can do it multiple times!
 
NSW Council
NSW CANDIDATES 
please complete the questionnaire below to have your responses recorded and published.

2024 LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

NSW

This is a voluntary questionnaire for all candidates in the 2024 NSW 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. Council watch will publish your answers. If you do not complete it - we will publish that too.

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

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.

In the last 10 years, have you been a member or affiliated with any of the following political parties?
NONE of the below
Labor
Liberal
Greens
Socialists
Libertarians (Liberal Democrats)
One Nation
Animal Justice
Freedom Party
Sustainable Australia
Teals
The National Party
United Australia Party (UAP)
DLP
I do not wish to disclose
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)
Have you had the following volunteer/unpaid or committee experience in the last 10 years in any of the following: (pick as many as are relevant)
I believe that Climate change (pick all suitable to you)
What do you think your communities' TOP 5 funding priorities are from Council funds? PICK ONLY 5
My campaign is funded by: (pick all suitable)

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
NO
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
NO
I DO NOT KNOW
If elected, I pledge to advocate that the Council 4 Year Strategic Plan incorporates service delivery standards.
YES
NO
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
NO
I DO NOT KNOW
If elected, I will advocate that Council publishes ALL Councillor and Staff Expenditure on the Councils Website every Quarter
YES
NO
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
NO
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
NO
UNSURE
If elected, I will ensure I respond to communication from community members (unless the sender is defamatory or abusive)
YES
NO
UNSURE

COUNCIL PUBLIC

TRANSPARENCY HUB

What is a Council transparency hub?

The LINK HERE will lead you to Frankston Council (vic) 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
NO
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
NO
UNSURE
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