Independent candidate for Wingecarribee Shire Council Julia Mckay responds to the state government imposed Performance Improvement Order.
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00:00Sarah, could you just introduce yourself to me. Julia Mackay. Julia, we're standing at the
00:05Winter Caribbe Shire Council Chambers today where you are campaigning ahead of Saturday's
00:11local government elections, what has been promised as a return to democracy for the Winter Caribbe.
00:18There seems to be a little bit of a question mark over whether that is being, I suppose,
00:25challenged. Well I suppose it's going to cover a period of 12 months from what I believe
00:33and during that period I think the new councillors will still have training wheels on
00:40so it may not be any bad thing that they're getting some guidance and that their powers
00:46are to some degree limited during that period. Anyhow what will be, will be. It's not something
00:53that we can change because this is a matter for the Office of Local Government and the Minister
00:59in particular. I suppose my other question would be if you had known this was in the offing,
01:04if you had known that this was potentially an outcome, would it have impacted your decision?
01:10No, but I think it's probably not done the Labor candidates any great
01:16favour because it's a Labor government that has brought this in. No, I don't think that
01:22that changes anything. I think that we should already know our limitations and that is that we
01:28are to develop a culture that is collegiate and courteous and I think also that it's a general
01:38policy. It's the 5,000 feet high view of the shire that matters. It's not my newty eye, that's not
01:48our business. So in my view we will, if I'm elected which is in the lap of the gods, then
01:59it's a matter of doing what one needs to do and grinning and bearing it. Do you think it will make
02:07getting some of your proposals through harder? Do you anticipate a struggle?
02:15My views are about the environment. They are about retention of an agricultural
02:23character for the district. I'm a farmer from way back, a dairy farmer. I'm fifth generation.
02:29I'm also a lawyer so I know what you can and what you can't do. So I think that my views are that
02:37we should be pro-business, pro-hospitality, pro-tourism but I'm dubious and reluctant to see
02:47the beauty of the district destroyed by urban sprawl. Thank you for your time.