Tharbogang Store owner targets 'pain' of rate hikes and housing shortage in election run for Griffith Council

Tharbogang Store owner Tony O’Grady will run as a candidate for Griffith City Council for the first time in September, identifying rates, housing, Lake Wyangan and tourism as his key issues.

The 44-year-old father of four is running on Deputy Mayor Anne Napoli’s ticket in what’s expected to be a tough election for newcomers.

The number of councillors will be reduced from 12 to nine, meaning each candidate needs more votes than ever to get elected.

Region caught up with Mr O’Grady to find out his views on council rate hikes, the housing shortage, Lake Wyangan, his other interests and whether the Sydney Roosters can win the premiership.

You say council rates are going up too fast. What do you mean by that?

Rate paying is a pain that’s inflicted on everyone. There’s a 10.5 per cent special rate increase that’s just been implemented and two more 10.5 per cent increases are set to come.

It’s a big slug for businesses. If rates go up, rents go up. You’re seeing a lot of businesses on the main street shutting their doors.

I’d definitely like to change that; I’d like to see rates come back to CPI (inflation), closer to 4 to 5 per cent rather than 10.5 per cent again. That’s more manageable for people.

But council says without the special rate increases, they’d have to cut back spending. What would you cut back?

I believe the council wants to spend more money on the arts; whether that’s essential is up for debate. Not every resident is into arts; there are places where we can save money.

They say an art gallery will attract professionals, but professionals are attracted by somewhere to live. You go to a house auction at the moment and you’ve got 25 to 30 people all competing for the one place.

What’s needed to address the housing shortage in Griffith?

I’d like to see development approvals happen quicker. I spoke to one developer and he said he waited two years for his application to be approved. That’s a long time to wait and means a lot of costs to carry. If we can get that process going quicker, then we can get more houses built.

If you’re building more houses, you’ve got more people paying rates, you’re creating more jobs and you are having more people spending money, which is good for businesses.

I see tradesmen living in sharehouses because there’s nowhere else to live.

What do you think about the state of Lake Wyangan?

I remember people swimming in the lakes; I remember ski boats going all the time and all the fun we had.

At the moment, it’s going backwards. I don’t think there’s a resident in Griffith that won’t want to see the lake returned to its former glory. I want to see what we can do to improve the water quality and get families back there.

I’d also like to see more focus on tourism generally, to get more people to visit our town.

What’s the best thing about living in Griffith?

I like that it has the facilities you have in the city but it’s still got that small country feel; you still see people you know on the street and can have a chat.

You’ve run the Tharbogang Store for 17 years, but what do you do outside of work?

I’ve been involved a lot in sport; I grew up playing rugby league and I’ve also coached kids football for eight years. I’ve got three kids who play soccer for Hanwood, and two that play league. I’m now on the board of Group 20 [rugby league competition].

Will your team, the Sydney Roosters, win the NRL premiership?

I’ve been a loyal Sydney Roosters supporter for the past 36 years. Come September, if you keep your players on the paddock and keep your form, anything can happen.