Susanna Freymark
Sixteen of the 23 candidates in the Richmond Valley Council Election sat in a long row at the Casino Community & Cultural Centre last night, Monday, September 2.
In attendance were Scott Brereton, Anne Toohey, John Walker, Kylie O’Reilly, Tracey Knox, Deb McGillan, Neale Genge, Daniel Simpson, Robert Hayes, Robert Mustow, Sam Cornish, William Drew, Lyndall Murray, Bianca Rayner, Samuel Allis and Kylie Maunder.
Read more about the candidates here.
More than 100 people were at the community centre to hear what candidates had to say.
Former Lismore mayor Jenny Dowell was the moderator and kept strict talking times, ringing the bell if anyone spoke over the allotted time.
“Democracy requires good people to put up their hands,” she said.
The audience and candidates were respectful and it was Ms Dowell who accidentally provided some moments of light relief.
Firstly, she said South Lismore instead of South Casino when referring to a question about stormwater drains. And then when Mr Mustow asked how much time he had left to speak, she said, “Forty-five minutes.”
The crowd laughed.
“Forty-five seconds,” she corrected herself.
After the introductions, there were questions from residents. The session went for more than two hours – not everyone answered every question and some questions on the same topic were grouped together. Here is a summary of what was said.
QUESTION: Can you identify a major challenge facing the council and how you will address it?
Mustow: Sewerage upgrades
Hayes: Water security
Murray: Community consultation, natural disaster preparedness
Walker: Infrastructure, flood recovery, roads, water
Williams: Lagoon/environment
QUESTION: What about the saleyards in the future? Do you want to comment on the NRLX decision?
Hayes: The lease will stay in place until we achieve a break-even result. If we don’t, we’ll have to look at it. The (current) lease is for a long time.
Murray: Ratepayers shouldn’t subsidise NRLX at all. It’s an asset that should be making money.
Walker: The problem is we do not know the details. Council has never released lease details. The community has been kept in the dark. We need an independent inquiry.
Mustow: Council didn’t make the decision to lease the saleyards – in 2016 the community asked the council to run it. Then at the 2023 meeting, the community asked us not to run it and lease it to the agents. We couldn’t do that under the government procurement process and we had to go out to tender. Three times in a row we’ve listened to the community.
QUESTION: Would you support community members being able to speak at council meetings without requiring prior approval?
Murray: Absolutely, 100%.
Walker: We would open up all information sessions. Public access will be at any time on any subject.
Williams: Transparency is important, councillors should be available.
Mustow: I have an open door policy as mayor. We have to have guidelines on what people talk about otherwise people talk for hours.
Hayes: If we have an issue, if we get 50 people who want to talk about it, we would be there all night.
QUESTION: What are you going to do for the homeless and those still affected by floods?
O’Reilly: A lot of us (flood-affected) were rejected by the Reconstruction Authority. Watch this space – we’ll do it on our own if we don’t get assistance.
Mustow: This is a hard one. Buybacks are taking homes – it’s a social problem. Council can’t buy houses. All we can do is lobby government. What happens when they take away the pods?
Simpson: The role for council is advocacy. We must bang down the door. I got $200,000 to help rebuild my business (Woodburn pub) but we need a plan. In Woodburn there are 10 to 15 houses that have been fixed sitting empty – it’s not good enough.
Rayner: I work on the frontline. We need renewed advocacy on the Federal Government front. The pod villages need to be more stringent about the selection process.
QUESTION: What is your opinion on an industrial incinerator in Casino?
SHOW OF HANDS: Every candidate raised their hand to show they were against the incinerator.
QUESTION: If elected will you consider dropping fees at the dump? Why don’t we have kerbside pickup and twice yearly tip vouchers?
Williams: I’m for it, especially the vouchers.
Mustow: Waste is a real problem. Every time we put waste in our dump, the government charges us. If waste charges come in rates, there is a flat fee for everyone. You pay at the tip if you use it.
Allis: Stop talking about it as waste. See it as a resource. With better recycling, we can see this waste as an asset.
O’Reilly: We can change the way we recycle. Look at the Armidale recycling system, it’s brilliant.
QUESTION: How will you represent the needs of people in other parts of the LGA (i.e. not where you live)?
Mustow: I’ve done 2200 visits across the LGA. Council is always mindful of distributing the money throughout the area. Funding is based on population.
Hayes: Council has been adamant about connecting with the lower river.
Murray: We have a community survey. I want to hear from everyone across the LGA. Our group has 70% women and 30% indigenous representation.
Walker: It doesn’t matter where you live. I don’t see any barriers anywhere. It’s an attitudinal thing – we are all one.
QUESTION: How will you put aside personal agenda such as the influence of the RSM and how will you deal with a conflict of interest?
Simpson: There is no room for personal interest on council. Processes are in place and most of the people here are standing for the right reasons.
Walker: In all my time in Local Government, the processes contain you. Corruption and conflict of interest are not part of Richmond Valley Council and never will be. Personal agenda – we all have them and we’ve talked about them tonight.
Mustow: It’s pretty strict. I’ve got a policy – if you’re in doubt, get out (of council meetings). Over my years, I’ve always seen councillors do the right thing.
QUESTION: What is your priority on roads?
Walker: We all know fixing roads is most important. It’s all about money. It should remain the highest priority of any council to fix roads.
Mustow: Roads are our priority. We live in a high rainfall area. Once you get a pothole, especially on bitumen, you can’t seal it straight away. There’s no favouritism. It comes down to funding.
Hayes: We’ve got kilometres of gravel roads. Council is struggling to get (road) workers.
Rayner: We need improved consultation with neighbouring councils to maintain their roads (that we use).
QUESTION: Council has $16mil to develop the equestrian precinct at Casino Showground. When are the showground racing stables going to be used?
Mustow: Unfortunately, the contractor (doing that) went into receivership. The big issue is the power. We can’t open the stables until we have power. We have a new contractor and expect it to be done by the end of September.
QUESTION: What is your attitude to arts in Casino and utilising the Civic Hall?
Mustow: We’ve got a strong connection with the arts club here. We support Bentley and Coraki art shows. We have event funding.
Murray: Music and the arts are a billion dollar industry. I’d like to see more arts in our backyard to drive the economy. I’d like to see a dedicated strategy.
Walker: I’ve supported the arts. My proudest moment was bringing Madam Butterfly to the Civic Hall. The arts is as integral and equal to sport in the community.
Williams: Art is a creator of understanding each other.
QUESTION: What is your attitude to Iron Gates (in Evans Head)?
O’Reilly: I’ve been asked this one thousand times. We have a housing shortage, we need supply.
(IndyNR.com was made aware that the part we quoted from Ms O’Reilly’s answer makes it sounds as it she approves of the Iron Gates development, when she does not support it.)
Hayes: Approval is in place for a downgraded proposal (at Iron Gates). Council’s report recommended DA refusal. The judge ignored that. The next council will decide (how to proceed).
Simpson: It’s a really divisive issue. I’m not supportive. The area is too ecologically sensitive. Better if it stayed off the table.
Mustow: Council’s Intention to Appeal gives time for solicitors to work out if an appeal would be successful. The new council will look at it.
Murray: I commend the council for lodging an Intent to Appeal. (Iron Gates) is going to create an isolated community. It is a concern. Housing is a huge problem. We need more (flood) mapping before we break ground.
Walker: Ultimately, a decision has been made. When a decision is made, we need to get on with it.
Ms Dowell ended the evening by saying, “Tonight was a demonstration of democracy.”
The forum was hosted by the Casino Chamber of Commerce.
The final planned Meet the Candidates forum is at the surf club in Evans Head at 6pm today, Tuesday, September 3.
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