Cerberus Ward
Darren Barnfield

BIO

The Mornington Peninsula has always been somewhat of a local secret with so many hidden gems. Unfortunately, now we can’t keep it secret any longer. At the same time, it must be recognised that Cerberus ward has its own needs and challenges. These challenges need to be carefully managed by our elected officials. There will be progress but the natural beauty of the area must be preserved.
Rightly, residents have reasonable expectations that they will be listened to and provided with outcomes on social concerns and policies that affect the ever growing and developing Cerberus Ward. I believe that mental health issues have become increasingly important in this difficult year and need to be addressed now and for some time into the future.

Having a wife who is a nurse with a speciality in mental health provides me with guidance and possible strategies in this area. I believe that young people are in particular need of guidance and opportunities. One way to help youth is to provide jobs and direction through small and large projects that deliver a financial impact as well as a social impact. One such project is the submarine that has been languishing in the Westernport Bay since 2002.

The HMAS Otama group has studies, and with 50 thousand potential visitors and a 5-million-dollar injection into the economy, why is this being ignored? I’d like to conduct transparent and meaningful community consultation and discussion, support our emergency services volunteers, improve services for our ageing community, address homelessness, and public transport and transit routes to Mornington and other hubs.

Simply put, given the opportunity to be your elected representative I will listen and advocate for residents in a way that supports your interests and needs.

What do you see are the key issues facing the Mornington Peninsula and how do you envisage contributing to a resolution?

Social issues including mental health and homelessness especially since the Covid 19 pandemic. We have to make sure services are available and accessible for and in our community.
Building and infrastructure: We need more footpaths, safer roads, general community services ie: street lighting.
Encouraging Small Business- Small businesses contribute so much to our communities. We need to work and ensure open and transparent communication.

What is your view on the Baxter Rail project that has a $225 million commitment from the federal government?

Connectivity is incredibly important to the prosperity of our community and economy, and it appears this project seeks to provide that missing link between the Western Port side of the peninsula, Frankston and beyond, which I support.

What will you do as a candidate to ensure that the Mornington Peninsula Shire honors its commitment to the State governments Small Business Friendly Program?

It is very important that small business representatives are involved in the conversation and decision-making processes. We have to ensure that all councillors, and any officer dealing with businesses fully understand the commitments made by the council. The performance of council in this regard must be regularly assessed against expectations.

Do you believe the Mornington Peninsula is disadvantaged by being considered part of metropolitan Melbourne and not being able to access the same benefits as Geelong who are considered a regional council, and do you believe this should be a priority of a newly elected Mornington Peninsula Council?

Absolutely, our classification caught us off guard as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. We are the Peninsula and must continue to advocate for a change in classification.

The current Mornington Peninsula Council has recently taken an approach to enforcement that has seen a significant increase in prosecutions at VCAT and the Victorian Magistrates Court at great expense to ratepayers, and in relation to VCAT- very low success rates. If elected will you support this current approach to enforcement and if not how do you propose Council can create a more harmonious productive relationship with ratepayers?

I think the skills around talking have been lost over time. We need to talk about the issues prior to referring everything via legal channels. The impact to all of those has significant financial and personal stress. How about starting with the basics of communication, learning to listen first and engage in dialogue second?

Why should ratepayers vote for you?

I’m a born and bred local that’s putting his hand up to have a go and do my best to bring about positive outcomes for my community.

Any final comments?

Thanks for the opportunity to provide my response and wish everyone good luck in their respective campaigns.

Cerberus Ward
Darren Barnfield

What do you see are the key issues facing the Mornington Peninsula and how do you envisage contributing to a resolution?

What is your view on the Baxter Rail project that has a $225 million commitment from the federal government?

What will you do as a candidate to ensure that the Mornington Peninsula Shire honors its commitment to the State governments Small Business Friendly Program?

Do you believe the Mornington Peninsula is disadvantaged by being considered part of metropolitan Melbourne and not being able to access the same benefits as Geelong who are considered a regional council, and do you believe this should be a priority of a newly elected Mornington Peninsula Council?

Why should ratepayers vote for you?

Any final comments?

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Cerberus Ward Darren Barnfield

What do you see are the key issues facing the Mornington Peninsula and how do you envisage contributing to a resolution?

What is your view on the Baxter Rail project that has a $225 million commitment from the federal government?

What will you do as a candidate to ensure that the Mornington Peninsula Shire honors its commitment to the State governments Small Business Friendly Program?

Do you believe the Mornington Peninsula is disadvantaged by being considered part of metropolitan Melbourne and not being able to access the same benefits as Geelong who are considered a regional council, and do you believe this should be a priority of a newly elected Mornington Peninsula Council?

Why should ratepayers vote for you?

Any final comments?

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Cerberus Ward
Darren Barnfield