Have you ever passed on feedback to the council – be it an email to customer service, a large-scale petition, or even one of the Have Your Say initiatives – only for it to not be heard? I've started to use the term 'consultation theatre' to describe the phenomenon.

We need a council that truly listens to what residents are saying and incorporate this feedback even if it doesn't fit the council's agenda.

If elected, I'd advocate for all raw community feedback data to be published publicly (with PII removed). We can then see the process of how insights and plans are constructed from this data.

I'd also love for us to have a Transparency Hub, similar to Frankston City Council's, where residents have the power to explore and analyse council information and data, at their fingertips.

Red tape was the second most important area for improvement (#1 being road maintenance) in the 2023 Community Satisfaction Survey. It’s simple: we need to champion freedom and smarter processes.

For instance, if you want to hold an event in the Shire, do you know it can take over 8 weeks for a permit to be approved? This stifles innovation and community connection.

I've heard of new businesses that can't open yet because they are waiting for the council to approve permits.

I want to make it easier for people to navigate the permit process and make compliance a breeze. We need streamlined contact points at council. I've heard too many stories from residents and businesses who are made to feel like criminals for lacking permits they don't even know they are meant to have.

The COVID years hurt businesses with many closing or not yet fully recovered. We need local representatives who not only understand business – but also have experience running businesses themselves. With many people working and running businesses from home now, we have a great opportunity to innovate on the way we think about economic development and growth.

We also need to make the experience of working with the council streamlined, speedy and digital.

I'd also love to see the council support festive celebrations across our towns and work with the community on Christmas decorations.

We need new solutions to the housing crisis. The Victorian State Government has already acted on this with changes to the planning schemes and the building regulations for secondary small dwellings.

The State Government has also set a target of 12,700 new houses by 2051 in the Ranges. We need to start strategically planning and having conversations now – the defaulting to VCAT approach isn't working.

I’d also like to update our Local Laws to allow for tiny houses on wheels on vacant or rented land. I’d advocate for expanding the size of structures you can build without a permit. We need to improve the permit experience for those building or renovating their homes.

With more flexible housing options, we can also attract more workers and tourists to our region.

We also need to respect farming land. As less of the world’s land is available for farming and supermarket giants continue to grow, the importance of small farms (<100 acres) and independent producers will be more important than ever. I want to protect the Farming Zone in our region and make sure farmers have the freedom to operate as needed.

Council needs to look at how it can help residents and businesses with the cost of living crisis. We need a council that can manage the ship tightly so more costs aren't passed onto residents.

With inflation across the board, many rural councils are struggling to maintain operations. Some are running in the red. Now is the time for council to control its spending and deliver on core basics for residents. We need better community consultation on our budget.

I am currently petitioning to keep green waste free at our resource recovery stations. After all, what are our rates for if costs continually get passed on to residents and ratepayers?

We need to plan for growth more strategically. By the time new facilities are built, they are often at capacity. Carparks are overflowing. Council-run kindergartens can't offer the allocated hours. Swimming classes are hard to get into. We need to think and act bigger on day one.

We need to build infrastructure that scales with the future generation.

Our roads continue to be a problem and source of dissatisfaction in the region. We need to stop using the band-aid solution of lowering speed limits and invest in longevity.

Over the past 15 years, through the companies I created, I've helped 10,000+ people find jobs, earn an income, start new businesses, and connect with their local communities.

I’ve often been in the position of bringing about innovation with limited resources. Businesses today have to be more agile in their plans, innovate faster, respond to change and listen to community feedback in real-time – the council needs to do the same.

Councils also need to consider their 'digital infrastructure' – how residents and businesses navigate online websites, databases and platforms. My background building tech products will help council improve the experience.

I’d love our council to think outside the box when it solves problems.