ALLAMBEE South Farmer Rosemary Cousin is one of seven candidates in the running for the Tarwin Valley Ward for the South Gippsland Shire Council elections.

Rosemary is an organic fine food producer alongside husband Richard and they are well known locally for frequenting famers markets across the region.

With experience in three levels of government across WA, Queensland and Victoria, Rosemary brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the urban and regional planning space.

Holding a Bachelor of Applied Science and a Master of Public Administration, Rosemary has managed the first and second iteration of the Building Better Cities Programme federally, and with the State Government for the western suburbs of Melbourne.

“I've got urban renewal, economic development, and community regeneration all in my experience,” said Rosemary.

This candidate of many talents would like to see a number of improvements take place across council and her areas of passion are contracts, supporting communities and the environment.

“I'd really like to see improvement in the way the contracts are issued and to make sure that we get value for money for all of our Council expenditure,” said Rosemary.

“I want us to support the communities, strengthen our communities and also support volunteer groups because the volunteers have pulled us through so much.”

“I want to also improve our environment. We've got a lot of damage out there and we need to try and shore ourselves up for climate change, which is increasingly affecting us.”

Rosemary is dedicated to working together with the community, the Council and more effectively with other levels of government to see greater attention and funding being allocated to South Gippsland communities.

In wrapping up her first day as a candidate Rosemary said,

“I love conversations. I love talking to people, and I hope to do well this election.”