Phillip Walker

In late 2023 I went through a serious illness which caused me to reflect on life. I have always been involved in issues related to social justice and community involvement, have led a varied existence, and I guess the older we get the more unique we can claim our life experiences to be. As a consequence, I concluded that ‘when this illness is over I am going to run for council as a concluding contribution to society.’ My community was kind enough to elect me.

As a new councillor I am currently on a steep learning curve and have to be adaptive to realities.

I campaigned saying that ‘climate change is the umbrella issue and unless we deal with that then everything else falls down’. As one small local council our capacity is limited and a holistic approach to environmental preservation must be a top priority. One aspect for the towns outside of Castlemaine is to have standalone solar farms with community batteries as these drastically reduce prices, are carbon neutral, and can continue to supply power when there are interruptions to mainstream systems.

This links to priority two which is doing all we can to make things better for the generations coming up. For the first time in a long, long time we face the prospect that our children will be worse off than us. Again, within the limited capacities of local government this ranges from housing to education to sports to cultural diversity to arts and culture and on.

Since COVID the world has been going through a challenging space, and we are part of that. Many people are coping with severe economic hardship, plus there has been a surge in angry venting. It would be nice to be able to bring some joy and pleasure to people, even if it is on little things. Sometimes we all need a good laugh.

I have been fortunate to live in many parts of the world and there are many beautiful places and wonderful people. As a species I consider we have much more in common than we do differences, which is one reason why conflict can be so distressing.

When my partner and I bought into this area we knew no one and from the first day since arriving we have felt welcomed, and friendships have blossomed. This is a richly diverse community, and I love all the cultural events (I’ll admit to being a blues and jazz fanatic and relentless reader). Each day we walk in the hills with our dogs and take in the nature.

There are some residents who say Council should restrain its activities to the 3 R’s – roads, rates and rubbish. This is very understandable except the Local Government Act of 2020 cites ’overarching governance principles’ including ‘(b) priority is to be given to achieving the best outcomes for the municipal community, including future generations; (c) the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the municipal district, including mitigation and planning for climate change risks, is to be promoted; (d) the municipal community is to be engaged in strategic planning and strategic decision making ….’ This requires Council to engage with the big picture.