AT 24 YEARS of age Aaron Taylor is the youngest candidate to run for Council by about 18 years and he is focused on helping to shape more energy resilient communities.  
After the February storms hit Mirboo North, Aaron was without power for three weeks and he believes it is necessary to find a better way forward. 
“After the two or three storms that have now hit in the last year, I wanted to run on the position of trying to get more energy independence in the communities,” explained Aaron.  
“One of my hopes was, if we can get larger batteries placed in town centres it would mean that we don't have to wait nearly so long for the power to come back on; and encouraging people to get their own if they can afford their own batteries; and just increasing community resilience against these disasters.” 
Aaron has been involved in unions for the past five years and is currently studying Politics and Philosophy at Deakin University and is also experienced in IT and customer support.
Aaron formed strong links to the community while working with the Storm Cell Volunteers and is extending these connections by volunteering with the Cub Scouts in an effort to become a Scout leader.
“Part of the reason I'm running is that the community has been fantastic since the storm hit. We had volunteers in two days and being a part of that, and seeing the community just spring into action really made me want to get involved as well. This is one of the ways I know I can help.”
While greater energy resilience is Aaron's key focus, he is also seeking to free up some of the red tape around council authorization processes. 
“There's a lot of damage that still needs to be repaired and a lot of it has been slowed down by planning permissions, so I was hoping to look at trying to get rid of some of the restrictions,” explained Aaron. 
Aaron is one of seven candidates running for the Tarwin Valley Ward in the South Gippsland Shire Council elections.