MAYORAL candidate for the Coffs Harbour Greens, Mr Jonathan Cassell, and his four-member team were joined by Greens MLC, Cate Faehrmann, to announce his candidacy last weekend with a focus on building a fairer Coffs Harbour for all.

Ms Faehrmann said, “The Coffs Greens have an ambitious goal to create greater levels of economic stimulus across the electorate and it’s truly refreshing to see a jobs plan that should benefit the entire community.

“The Greens believe they have a chance to be part of a fresh new collection of councillors who are committed to getting the best out of our council”, she said.

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Mr Cassell said, “Our community is facing many issues at present and what people seem to want is a council that serves the needs of the electorate from job creation to pothole maintenance.”

He said that, if elected to serve as a councillor, he will strive to establish a Regional Employment and Investment Strategy that would aim to invest $5M over four years in the Conservation and Land Management sector, creating new jobs, particularly for unemployed youth.

“This investment can be funded from any number of grants and it is expected would see over 55 new jobs created, bringing wide-spread benefits to farmers, tourism and the natural environment,” Mr Cassell said.

“As part of this strategy, I am also announcing that a new economic income stream could be returned to Council and private landholders when the strategy is fully implemented,” he said.

Mr Cassell said due to the scale of the plan he would release further detail in the coming weeks but went on to highlight other issues important to his campaign.

“As a team, we are very concerned about the current housing crisis facing our electorate and what Council can do to help,” he said.

The Greens are concerned that currently the different departments in Council don’t have an overarching document to guide approaches to homelessness.

Mr Cassell said, “The very first item I will push for as a councillor is for Council to initiate a homelessness strategy.

“The other issues that are important to our group is water quality and as a fisherman I am very concerned about the health of our estuaries from development pressures.

“Through this campaign, I (also) will endorse a program that supports small scale primary producers called Grow the Grower,” said Mr Cassell.

“We live in one of the best climates in Australia for food production and its clear council can play a greater role in assisting our local food producers.”

He said his team is also committed to the diverse community arts sector and will work closely with them to establish better outcomes that increase participation with a particular focus on Coffs Harbour young people.

The Coffs Harbour Greens also announced that, as part of their efforts to engage with the Coffs Harbour community, people can go to their brand new website at www.coffsgreens.org for more information.

By Andrew VIVIAN