Darryl Cloonan, Ballarat

Regrettably, for the first time ever, l disagree with a Courier editorial. Not all Ballarat is behind the Western Bulldogs. Unfortunately, l am supposed to barrack for the Sydney Swans only, as in 1954 and team-less, mum bought the only footy jumper my size on special; Ballarat and South Melbourne. Alas, my enthusiasm was never to be. All the hype, jargon and revered worship fever proved to be too elusive to me. Luckily it was noncontagious and l was easily able to survive for 68 years without any psychological problems or addictions. The climax of my lifetime's achievements was to join the AFL anti-football league. A natural step as l am pretty much anti everything. Of course, without footy there are repercussions and regrets. A few years ago, l was on shift work and in bed while the grand final was on, and my wife said, "You should watch the TV. Your team is winning in the grand final". I replied, "l did not know they were in it!" Sadly, that is the expensive price you pay for a household blackout on footy. 

Colin Holmes, Ballarat

I still find it difficult to understand the view of some that suggest that party politics has a legitimate role in local government. My belief is simple: in local government, the interests of the community come first, not the party’s. Party politics is about pushing a particular agenda that, in most cases, would not necessarily be in the community’s best interests.  As a member of the Labor Party, I have been critical of several Labor projects which I don’t believe are in the best interests of our community, as I have also with the Liberals in the past.

Our new Council must drive the agenda for Ballarat not our political parties.Councillors need to rise above political game playing and act together for the common good of Ballarat.

Ron Egeberg, Candidate for Central Ward

Can Ballarat move people in a better way? Sustainable transport and active transport play an important role in a modern future-looking city. Cycling and walking plays a role for health, action on climate change and effectively moving people in a modern city. Ballarat is the heart attack capital of Victoria and this can be reversed in part by designing the environment people move through to encourage health. I did my honours thesis looking at cycling and learnt that it is possible to create a cycle friendly city but that it requires leadership. I've also visited cycle-friendly cities such as The Hague and saw how cycling can be fun, safe, convenient and really popular. Ballarat needs to do a lot more to make it a cycle-friendly city and to change the current woeful levels of commuters.

As a sometime cyclist I recognise Ballarat needs to be made safer for riders. Ballarat needs a multi-mode city including walking, riding and public transport as important elements in moving people. Cycling needs to be safe and convenient. To achieve this active transport, both cycling and walking, infrastructure needs to be a higher priority and central to planning. There are many opportunities to increase Ballarat's ridership and one is to have a strong advocate for cycling in town hall. One concrete step would be to make sure the Ballarat Cycling Action Plan is adopted and the projects and priorities are acted on. This is an issue I and fellow Greens-endorsed candidates are passionate about.

Tony Goodfellow, Candidate for South Ward