Most current Griffith councillors will attend the debate. Photo: Griffith City Council.
Some 14 of the 17 candidates running for the upcoming Griffith City Council election have confirmed they will face off at a Meet the Candidates/debate forum on Thursday, 5 September, at the Griffith Exies.
The 2023 decision to substantially increase council rates, a proposal to build a new art gallery and the town’s chronic housing shortage are among a host of issues expected to be debated.
The event is being presented by the Griffith Business Chamber, with the general public welcome to attend free, though they need to RSVP.
“As people may be aware, the local government election is coming up on 14 September,” chamber president John Nikolic said.
“The chamber has decided to put on a Meet the Candidates event to enable the local community to get to know the candidates better.
“We are really pleased to be able to partner with local media like Region Riverina, Area News and Triple M and have journalists formulate and ask questions.”
Existing councillors attending the debate include Mayor Doug Curran, Deputy Mayor Anne Napoli and councillors Dino Zappacosta, Laurie Testoni, Glenn Andreazza, Shari Blumer, Jenny Ellis, Melissa Marin, Manjit Singh Lally and Chris Sutton.
Councillor Christine Stead is an apology for the event, while Simon Croce is the only sitting councillor not running again.
Candidates not currently on the council, including Mark Dal Bon, Graeme Cotton, Scott Groat, Damien Thorne and Tony O’Grady, will also attend the debate. Candidates Satwinder Singh and Darshna Surana did not respond to the invitation by organisers by the deadline.
“There’ll be a formal question-and-answer session including a mayoral debate [between the only two candidates for mayor, Doug Curran and Anne Napoli],” Mr Nikolic said.
”Afterwards, there’ll be an informal session when members of the public can mingle with councillors and ask them questions directly.”
Matty Wray (left), Oliver Jacques (centre) and Cai Holroyd will question candidates at the debate. Photo: Griffith Business Chamber.
The questions will be based on five broad policy areas:
- The special rate variation (SRV), governance and local government services.
- The housing and worker shortage crisis.
- Griffith’s recreational amenities, including Lake Wyangan and the proposed new art gallery.
- Water and the threat of buybacks.
- Business confidence and economic development.
The most contentious issue is perhaps the special rate variation (SRV), an increase to rates by much more than the standard annual rate rises, to address the council’s deteriorating financial situation. The council was divided on whether this was needed, with a slight majority of councillors backing the SRV at a vote in October 2023.
Debate is also likely to focus on Griffith Council’s 2021 pledge to build a new art gallery in town within five years, a plan that appeared to have been shelved given the challenging economic times. Some council candidates are more eager to see a new art gallery than others.
Questions for candidates will be devised by Area News journalist Cai Holroyd, Triple M presenter Matty Wray and this reporter, representing Region Riverina. The Business Chamber will have no input in formulating questions and neither chamber representatives nor candidates will be able to see the questions before they are asked on the night.
The Meet the Candidates forum will held at 5:45 pm on Thursday, 5 September, at Griffith Exies. RSVPs are essential. Register your attendance on the Griffith Business Chamber website.
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