Joshua Morris
IMPROVING services for young families and ending council indecisiveness are the key reasons teacher Joshua Morris has decided to stand for Ballarat City Council.
Mr Morris said he believed a current lack of decision-making was costing Ballarat hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.
“I believe the indecision of this council and its administration, and its failure to push ahead with key projects, has cost the community dearly,” Mr Morris said.
“Unfortunately, because of lack of transparency in much that council does, the amount of money that has been wasted on consultants and their reports may never be known.
“If council commissions a report from experts, it should take that report under advisement and it should make a decision.
“The residents of Ballarat want informed and considered decisions made; they want things to keep moving forward. The Civic Hall is a classic example.
“I am also deeply concerned about the failure of the council and its senior officers to see through the delivery of its vision and its key plans.
“Council just seems to have an inability to make hard decisions. If elected, I know I have the energy to take on these challenges, the strength to make hard decisions and the courage to stand up to highly paid senior council officers.”
Mr Morris, who will stand in the south ward, said he would also fight excessive rate rises, make the council financially accountable, ensure financial transparency, cut bureaucracy and return to efficient delivery of basic services.
He also believed the council could do more for young families.
“Families are the future of this city. I love Ballarat, I was born and educated here, it’s a great place and I want the same opportunities for my children that I had.”
Mr Morris said difficulties accessing three-year-old kindergarten and recent changes to maternal and child health service delivery also concerned him, as well as the provision of safe, clean and easily accessible playgrounds.
He is a Victorian Multicultural Commission Grampians Regional Advisory Council member, runs Sanitas First Aid with his wife, and teaches at Darley Primary School.