WHEN John Kennedy came to Korumburra eight years ago, he wasn’t only relocating his successful cycle-fit shop from Beach Road, Black Rock to South Gippsland, he rolled up his sleeves and got involved in the community as well.
He was instrumental in getting the Great Southern Rail Trail extended to Korumburra and beyond to Bena, Loch and Nyora, and has also been involved in attracting a number of other business ventures to the town.
In fact, if you call into his shop at 42 Commercial Street in Korumburra, The Bicycle Fitting Store, in between stories about his brushes with fame on the professional cycling circuit, you’ll find he’s a one-man advertising campaign for Korumburra.
Now, after plenty of local encouragement, he’s decided to throw his hat into the ring for the next South Gippsland Shire Council elections, where candidate nominations open at 9am on Monday, September 9.
There already looks set to be six or more candidates for Strzelecki ward with former mayor Nathan Hersey going again and Korumburra’s Jenni Keerie, while the list of challengers includes John Kennedy, health and community services professional Bronywn Beech, possibly former councillor Andrew McEwen, now a resident of Korumburra, and one or two others considering running.
However, while John Kennedy would like to win a seat on the council and shake it up a bit by focusing more attention on Korumburra, Bena, Loch, Poowong, Nyora and district, he’s also happy to see more attention given to the needs of the local community.
“To me the people are the council, not the council administration and they need to be listening and acting on what the people want, not what the administration wants,” Mr Kennedy said.
“If I get elected, the first thing I will do is set up a table in town once a month and invite anyone and everyone to come along and tell me what they think.
“I’d like to get to the situation where I have 2000 or 3000 on an email list and when an issue comes up, I’ll ask them what they think and take that to council.
“There are a lot of problems with the assets and infrastructure in Korumburra that needs fixing and it’s not just Korumburra. Out at Nyora for example, they have a number of housing estates that are almost ready to go, with as many as 900 more houses to be built and they’ve got practically nothing out there in the way of services.
“And what’s worse, the shire doesn’t even own any land where the required services would go.
“There aren’t proper footpaths in Poowong for the kids to get to school.”
“The same in Korumburra. It’s good that the council is doing up the streetscape but they missed a golden opportunity to put the community hub in the main street and really revitalise the main street, not back behind the shops on the side of a hill.
“Honestly, I tried to find someone else to run, which is what I wanted to do, but since moving to Kardella, I’ve really been wearing my heart on my sleeve for Korumburra and it’s potential, and I’m prepared to have a go.
“I truly believe Korumburra has got more potential than Leongatha and that’s not knocking them but it’s the first place people come to in South Gippsland and it really is a pretty town. We’ve had plenty of new housing going up, and I can see that continue, but with the right amount of support from the shire and government, Korumburra could really go ahead.”
But Mr Kennedy said he believes the council is on the wrong track trying to do away with the government’s rate cap.
“Country people are already paying too much in rates, compared to the city. It’s getting expensive to live here and we can’t just keep putting the cost of everything up.”
Mr Kennedy said it was a blow for the town when several of the banks decided to close down, believing that the Commonwealth Bank at least might have been saved if business and farmers were prepared to shift their loans over.
He said the shire should invest more in the Korumburra Botanical Gardens, get the train back to Coal Creek, and provide more activity for the kids.
“I think they’re going to build a smaller skate ramp now but I’d like to see if it’s feasible to put a roof on the swimming pool, to extend its season and I believe they should have looked at doing away with the centre medium strip in Commercial Street and introduced angle parking.”
But he says the key to success is finding out what the people themselves want for their towns and districts and keeping them involved while council delivers on a clearly defined plan.
“Honestly, if you’re in this position and you can’t talk to people, something is seriously wrong. The council has got to be more transparent about what it is planning to do and their decision making.”
Mr Kennedy said he’d also like to see an inquiry into local government salaries, especially what shire CEOs and senior managers are paid, but that’s a discussion for another day.
For now, it’s all about what’s good for Korumburra, Bena, Loch, Poowong, Nyora and district.
And when he’s not talking about the sport of cycling and the importance of buying a bike that suits your unique physique and needs, he’s happy to hear what local residents think the shire council should be doing and how he can bring that message to the council table.
