RELATED: Public hears from candidates
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PROSPECTIVE City of Greater Bendigo councillors have been surveyed on their positions on environmental, transport, planning and cultural diversity issues ahead of this month’s local government election.
Community groups Bike Bendigo, Bendigo Sustainability Group and Progress Bendigo asked candidates questions based on the council’s environment, cultural diversity, land use and transport, and housing strategies and plans.
The questions aimed to measure candidates’ support for such matters as action on climate change, cycling infrastructure, urban design for people rather than cars, cultural diversity within Bendigo and a council representing various views while operating harmoniously.
“We want to make sure the public are well-informed,” Chris Corr, from Bike Bendigo and BSG, said.
Mr Corr said the council plans and strategies used to formulate the questions were already in place, but the next term of local government would be critical in taking steps towards achieving the goals they outlined.
Following the survey, the community groups ranked the candidates according to the number of supportive responses they gave and their written comments.
Margaret O’Rourke came out on top in Eppalock ward, Jennifer Alden was ranked number one in Lockwood ward, and incumbent councillor James Williams was top of the table in Whipstick ward.
Fifteen candidates – five in each ward – provided supportive answers to all 15 questions.
BSG member Colin Lambie said when assessing the candidates’ comments, the groups considered their willingness to take definite and immediate action on the issues that had been presented to them.
He said they had ranked the candidates to distinguish between those who had given the same number of supportive answers, but stressed the rankings were subjective.
Mr Corr added that they had also looked for answers that were thorough and considered when ranking the candidates.
“I think it’s been a very enlightening and informing process,” he said.
Mr Lambie said he found it particularly interesting that some candidates who did not accept mainstream climate change science were also those who did not support the Cultural Diversity and Inclusion Plan.
Mr Corr added there was an “alarmingly” high number of candidates who did not believe in human-related climate change.
Six of the 32 candidates running for election in the City of Greater Bendigo - Julie Hoskin, Malcolm Pethybridge, Stuart Symes, Ian Dean, Samuel Tshisekedi and Vaughan Williams – did not respond to the survey.
The candidates’ full responses can be found at the BSG website.