My response to your questions.

Here are my answers to three questions that concerned residents asked of all candidates standing for election in the City of Whitehorse.

1. Do you agree that rate increases should not exceed the increase in the CPI plus a small margin - say 10% of the increase in the CPI, so that rate increases do not exceed the ability of Ratepayers to cover the cost without being forced to cut other essential expenditure?

I would always consider the Ratepayer's household budgets when setting rates.It would be great to keep rates as low as possible because there are pensioners, low income earners, those on fixed incomes and single parent families that are particularly disadvantaged but all residents are affected. The difficulty is not knowing what the CPI will be each quarter or year and not knowing if certain trade movements might skew the CPI to misrepresent actual inflation.
When I was in Council, I voted against the 2003, 2004 and 2005 budget increases which I felt were unjust and excessive.

2. Will you vote for or against the proposal to spend upwards of $78 million of Ratepayers' funds on constructing a new Whitehorse Centre?

A LITTLE HISTORY.
Let me take you back 30 years ago when the building called the Nunawading Arts Centre came into being. I was there on the day when the first sod of soil was turned. When the Arts Centre as it was known opened in 1987 it was run by community groups and volunteers.
Jean Abbott ran the Nunawading Market for over 20 years and I helped by relieving her during holidays and then when she retired I became the convenor. The money raised from stall rental went towards purchases for the Arts Centre. The impressive velvet curtains that graced the stage were one such item, as well as Scholarships for Performing Arts students to study overseas. These Scholarships were named after former mayor Dick Lack who brought together the Mitcham Arts Association, Mitcham Repertory Group, Blackburn Film Society, Utassy Ballet and Nunawading Musical Society to form a Festival of Arts.
The original plan was for the Centre to be built nearer to the Council Offices and closer to Whitehorse Road. But as the land had previously been a landfill site, the centre had to be situated further north and not on such a slope.
In 1995 when Nunawading City and Box Hill councils were amalgamated the Council took over the administration of the theatre complex and employed professional staff. This meant that community groups that hired the centre were no longer permitted to sell refreshments as they had previously done to earn money for their school or club or organisation.

FAST FORWARD TO 2016 The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 and the Disability Discrimination Act Amendment of 2009 were not around when the Arts Centre was built. The current building is no longer compliant with today’s legislation and for that reason, renovation and remodelling is necessary. Those involved with theatre productions are acutely aware of the limitations of the facility. If you go into the basement you would see that there is not enough storage for the costumes, it is very cramped for performers with not enough head height. The orchestra pit is in the same situation with the fly over not suitable for modern productions. There is insufficient room to build and paint sets and backdrops. Often they need to be cut in half to move into place. These issues need to be addressed.

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE?
What has council considered?
· Spending $78 million to build a completely new centre?

· Erecting a multi-deck car park?

· Tearing down the existing centre?

· Maintaining only the essential functionality of the building?

Residents were not given detailed information about the cost of all these options. Residents were only shown one building option as a fait accompli.
What disturbs me is that the tendering process seems to always be more expensive for Councils and Governments. E.g. let’s make a fast buck from the public purse. Residents feel that their rates are being collected but they are not receiving value for money.

3. Do you agree that new building developments should provide at least the minimum number of parking spaces recommended by State planning authorities, rather than less or even no parking spaces as allowed by this City at the present time?

Yes. Car spaces are needed to get the cars off the streets. It is essential to tackle the State legislation to solve this problem. I believe in having adequate parking spaces for new building developments. I disagree with the idea that car parking spots are not needed for student accommodation. This is based on the misconception that they don't drive cars or can't afford cars because they are students.