A.A.C On the 2010 Adelaide Lord-Mayoral campaign Trail
Wrong time for Wong time???
Adelaide is on the cusp of great change. Over the next few weeks important decisions with far reaching implications are going to be made that will shape the future of Adelaide and guide the way we see our city develop over the next 25 years and into the new century. This is the part of the century in which we will forever lay the mental and physical foundations for the growth of whatever feats of achievement become part of human life and endeavor throughout the rest of the 21st century.
Of course, being Adelaide, no one really knows what’s going on and most are barely aware that this mega-important event is happening, or indeed the gravity of its outcomes. Although the decision reached by voters will have a huge effect on most people in the state in one form or another, very few of us actually get to make the decision. There is a reason for this, of course, and that is because it is a local council election.
The voters in this election will be residents of the CBD of Adelaide and North Adelaide, people owning or operating a business in the CBD and international students living and studying in the CBD. All who are eligible to vote must be registered and up to date on the electoral roll. But that is another story altogether!
Last election roughly 6000 out of 21,000 potential voters cast a ballot in the mayoral election and it is commonly understood that this time around a total of 2500 votes should be enough to win the mayorship. Not much, especially considering that the outcome of the election has ramifications for a population of one million people.
To clarify if you are actually eligible to vote go here;http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/council/elections/enrolling-to-vote.html
2010 Ballot Packs are being mailed out to voters, starting tomorrow Monday the 25th with the last ballots arriving in voters mailboxes on Friday the 29th of October 2010. Voters then have until the close of voting on Friday the 12th November 2010 at 5pm to mail their ballots in for counting. If voters cannot have their ballot paper in the post to arrive on time, they can attend their local council office and hand in their vote by 5pm Friday November 12. The vote count occurs on Saturday, 13 November 2010 which means we should know who is the new mayor when we pick up the Advertiser on the morning of Monday the 15th of November.
Furthermore, in keeping up with the technological advancements of today, the Electoral Commission has also set up a free SMS election reminder service. Voters who take up the option will be sent three reminders to vote.
You can register for this service at www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/remindme.
Here are links to my interviews with some of the candidates
Stephen Yarwood part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJRW33o9uI
Stephen Yarwood Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGcrJlKeFY
Francis Wong
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtSAXoCCqJU
Ralphe Clarke interview
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmugnS_g9Fo
Ralph Clarke - Audio
http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
First we must unite the candidates upon their common ground. And then we must distinguish the subtle differences that will characterise each of their potential mayorship’s.
Common to all leading candidates is the belief that Adelaide must become a more vibrant, flourishing and modernised city. Sorry stalwarts, but we’re in for change. It is likely that the cap on building heights will be removed or amended, which means we will be seeing taller buildings and potentially a skyscraper in Adelaide.
Whoever becomes mayor will be guiding the implementation of policies and infrastructure to keep abreast of the expected growth of the CBD’s residential population. The webpage of candidate Ralph Clarke states the figures of the current CBD population at something around 17 000[1] people. This number is expected to grow to around 45 000 during the course of the city’s development.
Naturally this also means that we shall be upgrading the public transport system and increasing the fluidity of the cities roadways. How far we are prepared to take this project and the way it is done will be highly dependent upon which candidate is chosen as mayor. If the right decision is made we could be talking about competing on the same level as the top public-transport driven cities in the world.
As far as I can distinguish, the main difference between Yarwood and Clarke’s public transport policy is the implementation of Copenhagen style[2] bike lanes, with a much heavier emphasis on bicycle transport coming from Yarwood’s corner. Both of these candidates advocate improving the efficiency and organising a major boost to the public transport system encompassing changes to all levels. Yarwood as always has integrated environmentally-friendly sustainable technology into his public transport strategy. Clarke is slightly doubtful of the potential for success of the Copenhagen style bike lane; another example of how the council automatically keeps itself in check. But in regards to that particular sort of system, I personally remain optimistic and believe that we could work to achieve a compromised Adelaide-Copenhagen type system and have great success.
[2] http://vimeo.com/13826541
A new super school is also on the cards in order to combat a top heavy education system in which CBD tertiary and secondary schools are well looked after and relatively up to date whilst CBD pre-schools, kindergartens and primary schools are lack lustre. An integrated super school is being proposed for the CBD to increase the number of youngsters we can educate in the CBD from kindergarten all the way through to university. This would also take the pressure off CBD high schools before they become too full and have more students then they should be expected to handle. Slightly more information can be found here: http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/call-for-city-super-school/
I think it is important, considering the state of the planet’s health, that we not only consider eco-friendly options when implementing our new infrastructure, but also that we upgrade existing infrastructure to sustainable and eco friendly standards. How high this issue sits upon the council's agenda, and how serious the situation is treated and ultimately dealt with, is another factor that is highly dependant on the priorities of the candidate who is elected mayor.
When I spoke to Candidates Clarke and Yarwood, both identified the arts as areas of major areas of focus for them. Mr. Clarke made the point that "the arts industry is worth more than 2 billion dollars a year. That's bigger than the AFL or NRL or cricket australia. We need to look at that both as a cultural necessity as well as an absolute economic driver. We as a small city need to concentrate on our strengths, and the arts is one of our strengths. We need to increase our funding in that area and we will do magnificently."
Full interview here: http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
Mr. Yarwood also identified with this and stated that he would atleast triple the current arts budget and make it easier for Adelaide artists to secure important projects or start a successful business if elected.
For those of you who don’t know; for some time now the council has been planning the development of Victoria Square. The plan is to turn the square into one of the arts, social and cultural hubs of the city. This process involves the square becoming a public space, specifically designed to accommodate cultural exposes, musical performances, stage acts and other events on a regular basis.
Also on the cards is the potential installation of a large television screen to be used for public broadcasting of significant events such as national sporting events and important public addresses. Also present on the site would be new cafes and restaurants that showcase the finest of our local produce, culinary talents and other creative endeavours.
This is how the situation is presented on the Adelaide city council’s Victoria square development website.
“The regeneration of Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga will lead to it becoming a more recognisable place within the City of Adelaide and a major tourist destination within Australia, creatively reinforcing and celebrating our unique South Australian culture – its natural landscape, climate, arts, festivals, food and wine. Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga will become one of the world's great public spaces, a unique Australian destination and meeting place.”[3]
To view that very development plan of which I speak for yourself (and save the tips of my fingers from becoming raw) , go here: http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/development/victoria-square.html
Ralph Clarke sums up some of the importance of this week’s election in this statement; "How our city looks in 25 years will largely be determined by the planning that the City Council does over the next four-year term, [That is] particularly with respect to the development plan for the city of Adelaide and preparing for an increase in our city's population.”
Currently the state government is required to sign off on all projects proposed by the council that are budgeted over $10,000,000. This is an issue which as viewed by some, is a way for the state government to potentially tie up council projects in political loops. There is a general consensus among the councillors that whomever becomes lord mayor will have to clarify and amend the council’s relationship with the state government to prevent red tape and political obstacles stopping the council from navigating a clear course through the council’s planning and development agenda. A sentiment which was recently voiced by Francis Wong, the candidate receiving the most political backing; “Make no mistake; for Adelaide to reach its full potential we have to work with the Government of the day, not be at odds with them.”[4]
[4] www.franciswong.com.au
In an attempt to understand this situation I chatted with candidate Ralph Clarke whilst making laps around the city in his car. He was able to raise my understanding of things to this level;
“Nowhere in the current council development standards is there a clause which states that buildings in Adelaide have to be of a high quality, the materials used to build must be of high quality, or that the public realm surrounding the building must be of high quality”.
The origins of the current development & assessment standards date back to a 2006 decision made by the council of the time to “remove impediments to getting more apartments built in the city.” This for me is an example of how decisions can be made at the top which are out of touch and driven mainly by economic & political factors which attempt to combat perceived fluctuations in profit margins & statistical data and are not truly reflective or representative of the best interests, and the spirit of the people of the city. In Ralph Clarke’s words; “All that (the council’s decision) did was to successfully bring in a lot of ugly buildings.”
With an amended council development approval process, we could see it become much easier for advanced constructions to occur around town, whilst at the same time the quality and aesthetic standards of our buildings will go up, if we pick the right candidate that is...
Any serious attempt at rolling out the necessary infrastructure to turn Adelaide into a globally competitive city this century (possibly this decade) involves the council having control over important civic projects, of course if they are to be of any worth or usefulness, they will be budgeted at over $10 million. What do we want? Cheap stuff???
If the amendments are made successfully, and the council is granted more autonomy and power, it is up to us, we the people and the voters to ensure that the 12 members of the council are truly representative of our interests, truly understand what it means to be Adelaidian, and of course have the necessary skills & knowledge to implement good plans and it get them done properly.
THE PRINCIPLES OF A GREAT CITY
The City of Adelaide's 2002 report Public Life and Public Spaces, by Gehl Architects, recommended six principles for achieving a great city:
- capitalise on unique qualities
- create a better city for walking
- create a better city for staying
- reduce through traffic
- create a beautiful city
- create a diverse, safe and lively city.
Exploring these principles and working within them will be a big step in creating the environment which ties all of Adelaide's resources and people together into a strong network which launches itself into the future.
This election it’s all about your choice people. It is actually YOUR choice. Have you ever yourself or have you overheard people complain about Adelaide, it’s backwards, it’s boring!, we have no power, the government has too much control, big business rules the world?
That is simply not true!! Nothing in politics is concrete. It is all dependent upon the legislation we let our elected members push through the parliament! Don’t forget, we elect the parliament. It is supposed to be by the people for the people right!?? Any belief otherwise is the product of blindfolded thinking and political spin indoctrination.
Are you sick of tied up progress, anonymous, unaccountable capitalists in control and kilometres of tangled political red tape in the way of getting things done?? Well the time to make the decision is right now! We can take control of the forward direction our city takes! Have you ever dreamed of things that should be done around town to make it a better place or observed faults that need to be fixed up? Well make sure you choose the candidate in this election who can help you achieve these dreams! Wake up Adelaide. Its time to stop sucking dinosaur eggs and time to finally step up to the podium and claim our rightful place as a world leader of sustainable, futuristic technologies’, artistic viberance and civic prosperity.
Whomever is elected lord mayor will get to have the most input and be offered the most opportunity to infuse their personal flare during the council’s meetings about how to spend the council’s budget on maintaining and improving Adelaide. As candidate Stephen Yarwood stated when I interviewed him;“the mayorship is a position of influence not power”
For me it is imperative that the lord mayor guiding the new council embodies the values that we want to see become our state’s future identity.
So what is the council, and what does the lord mayor actually do??
The Adelaide City Council is represented by 12 Members consisting of the Lord Mayor and 11 Councillors. The Lord Mayor and Councillors are elected by voters across the Adelaide City Council, and have a responsibility to the City as a whole. All Council members are elected for a four year term of office.
“COUNCILLORS are responsible for $16 billion worth of infrastructure and spend $1.5 billion each year on essential services,”[5]
The role of Lord Mayor is set out in the City of Adelaide Act, 1998.
The Lord Mayor will:
It seems to me that candidates Yarwood and Clarke embody the same or at least similar ideals,however it reflects in different ways out of each of them because of their age difference and different upbringings. High on their agendas are making Adelaide a more integrated, sustainable, futuristic and liveable city, propped up by a grass roots culture and a true willingness to incorporate the opinions of and be influenced by everyday people.
“Mr Wong's highly visible media strategy has been co-ordinated by top advertising firm kwp! and former journalist Leigh McClusky, and has included TV advertisements and online videos.
Mr Wong said his "largely self-funded" campaign would cost $40,000 at most, with some contributions from leaders in the Chinese community.
"I did decide to avoid big developers because I was aware (of possible conflicts) later on (when) they might want to build a 100-storey building," he said. "In a campaign like this for mayor, there has to be some strategy and approach; it has to be a disciplined approach."
Several State Government ministers have been cold-calling leading city identities urging their support for Mr Wong, who also has the backing of Alexander Downer and the powerful Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which controls the ALP in SA. Union secretary Peter Malinauskas said Mr Wong was best "aligned" with the interests of his members.” - Adelaide now
…Indeed, perhaps investors will not get their own 100 story building, but what returns are expected on these investments? And by whom?. This for me, is typical of how behind the scenes ‘powerbrokers’can manipulate civic affairs from the shadows and use their influence and power through organisations and unions to unaccountably lean on their underlings. Which pretty much forces the people who they employ into voting for their ideals and policies, lest they ‘make the wrong decision’ and have their privileges revoked for voting incorrectly.
Exemplarily of the conflicting interests between state government-backed corporate Adelaide and the bona-fide( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_faith ) population of the city is the annual influx of revellers, rev-heads (commonly referred to as bogans) and tourist dollars for the clipsal 500’s each year in march. For me it highlights some parts of our state’s character that I would like to see eradicated, or at least downplayed from the national psyche. Not to mention the event shamelessly imposes itself upon the city and its population with loud, incredibly LOUD noises all day every day for 3 days and floods the streets with drunk bogans every night after the races. No wonder we are the butt of derogatory jibes from pretty much every state in the country!
For me it (the clipsal) is an example of trying to generate money and stimulate the economy by temporary influx measures rather than implementing clever, sustainable and local networking systems that give our city real character, our young people real opportunity for a future that consistently pays off (into our economy) every single day of the year; and creates and strengthens the community.
photo - Adelaide now http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/heavy-hitters-back-businessman-for-mayor/story-e6frea83-1225939616595
“Fellow candidate Ralph Clarke said, yesterday, Mr Wong's high-profile campaign was more about style than substance.”[6]
"I certainly can't afford it (TV advertising)," he said. "Are we going to end up with an American-style system where only the wealthy can afford to campaign?" -Clarke.
This is indeed something that may have to be considered in the 2014 lord mayoral elections if once again, the old boy’s network is allowed to twist the cities mechanisms around their little fingers. This truly is an election of principles. Principles that involve shifting power from traditional big business fueled economy to an integrated corporate & grassroots, open and free enterprising economy by the people for the people, as opposed to an even more complex version of current leanings where money equals power and the more money one has or the more people one knows with money, the more influence they have.
In regards to money equalling power, just remember this man; (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg8rSLfwK_g) is now the governor of California.
Mr. Clarke went on to clarify; "We won't get where we need to be by glitzy lunches with PR ladies, expensive TV ads, a t-shirt with a slogan from seedy, Vietnam War R&R bars and influential backers with clear, vested interests."
Anyone not sure about the origin of the Wong time slogan should (or perhaps should not) follow this link;
http://www.blogotariat.com/node/204212
Money talks, Stephen Yarwood walks. As I write these words Mr. Yarwood will be near the completion of his self-imposed task of door knocking every single, yes every single door in the constituency. That is a mammoth task, and exposes him to people and opinions which people playing the game at such a high level are not usually exposed to. You have got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk to be a good mayor.
Apart from door knocking, other initiatives taken by Mr.Yarwood have been to establish himself as the first paperless politician in the country (which also means first paperless lord mayor candidate) Using a palmtop style mobile phone, he has been receiving all information digitally and therefore eliminating the need for paper.
To introduce you to Each of the main candidates I have highlighted a portion of their biography here, to read the rest, visit their website's.
Francis Wong
"Francis Wong is a prominent figure in marketing Australia as the tourism and business destination. He is well known as an accomplished leader as well as a spokesperson for the Asian Inbound Tourism Industry in Australia and is one of the Business Ambassadors for South Australia appointed by the South Australia Government. He also sits on the peak national tourism body, Australian Tourism Export Council as a board member, Chair the Asian Tourism Industry Advisory Panel. He is also an Area Councillor for Adelaide City Council.
He migrated from Brunei Darussalam in 1988 to establish Encounter Australia Pty Ltd., which is now one of the leading and most awarded national Inbound Tourism companies in Australia. He also co-managed a successful outbound travel company trading as Lai Lai Travel.
His other business interests are Endeavour Australia Pty Ltd, a firm specializing in promoting trade, projects development and marketing between Australia and Asia, Top 8 Wines Pty Ltd, a premium wine exporting business and BBX Adelaide, a barter business to business exchange.
Francis Wong’s positive attitude and entrepreneurial style has won respect in Australia and Asia. His experience in various industries in Australia, coupled with his influential network within the governments and private enterprise has brought many rewards to the Australian tourism industry and communities. This has also led to him being awarded the Council for International Trade and Commerce of South Australia (CITCSA) International Business Ambassador for 3 consecutive years, 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2005 he was awarded as CITCSA Life Business Ambassador.
In 1998, he was appointed by the Australian Federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to serve on the Business Advisory Panel, advising the Minister and the Department on the national skill migration policy.
In 2003, he is the first Asian in Australia to receive the prestigious national award – ‘Most Outstanding Contributing by an Individual to the Australian Tourism Export"
www.franciswong.com.au
Stephen Yarwood
."I am a passionate Town Planner with expertise in understanding the future of cities. I am 39 years old, have lived, worked and/or studied in the city for around 20 years and my personal interests include cities, technology, food/culture, photography, sustainability, arts and design.
Elected to the Adelaide City Council in 2007, I was elected Deputy Lord Mayor in 2009. I'm a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors and have a Bachelor of Arts (Planning), Graduate Diploma (Regional and Urban Planning) and Graduate Diploma (Environmental Studies). I've just completed my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at The University of Adelaide and will graduate in December of this year.
My business is developing cities. I have nearly 20 years experience as a City Planner, working extensively in State Government, in the South Australian Parliament as an Environment, Resources and Development Researcher and as the Principal Town Planner at the City of Playford. I have also researched and/or lectured in Australia, Denmark, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand on environment and development planning and management, as well as studying future cities in Japan's technology city, Tsukuba.
I am currently the Presiding Member of the Local Government Association committee overseeing the State/Local Government Climate Change Sector Agreement and have been on the Capital City Committee, Adelaide Convention and Tourism Authority Board and the Adelaide High School Governing Council.
My major achievements at Adelaide City Council have been to:
Ralph Clarke
"One of three children, I was born on 4/10/1951 and raised in Walkerville SA. After leaving high school in January 1969, I joined Stenhouse Wallace Bruce, Insurance Brokers, as a junior clerk. I also joined the Insurance Employees Union and became a committee member. While working for Stenhouse, I studied for the Associate Diploma in Insurance Studies.
In 1984, at the invitation of the SA Branch Council of FCU (federated Clerks Union), I was appointed secretary on the retirement of the long-serving Harry Krantz. I was elected Secretary in a contested election in 1985. In 1991 I was elected National President of FCU.
I joined what was then the Young Labor Association in 1966 at the age of 14. In 1993 I was elected to the SA Parliament as the Member for Ross Smith. I remained a member of the ALP until November 2001 when I resigned to contest the seat of Enfield as an independent in February 2002.
After losing the seat of Enfield (formerly Ross Smith) in 2002 I opened my own IR consultancy business. I appear as an advocate for people who have been unfairly dismissed or have been underpaid. I charge a nominal rate: I’m not wealthy but I can survive well enough on what I have and this is my way of “putting something back”.
In 2007 I was elected as a Councillor with the Adelaide City Council."
I am fortunate to have travelled widely: - Soviet Union (including Uzbekistan), UK, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, USA, South Africa, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore."
www.ralphclarke.net.au
For me these three are the main candidates who will be commanding the majority of voters support in this election. We can already identify key points of their characters by studying their backgrounds and the decisions they have made to get them to where they are in life.
Most people who ever tried to act intelligent in general conversation would probably be familiar with the concept of the Freudian slip ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freudian_slip )… This is a statement made by Wong which i believe is telling as to where his allegiances lie;
“we have unlimited potential if we, the Adelaide city council, welcome comment and ideas and genuinely listen to our business partners” - In Daily.
I think that a mayor should be someone who understands the ins and outs of what makes a city tick as opposed to someone who has merely learned to operate successfully within it’s intricate systems and parameters.
This is a text from Francis Wong's Top 8 wine company website which I have used to highlight what i see as a big difference in stance between Mr. Wong and candidates Clarke/Yarwood.
"Francis is targeting the growing number of wealthy Asians who aspire to a western lifestyle and see wine as a status symbol.
anything western is very attractive to a lot of Asians right now. Wine has a lot of status among Asians and they like to be seen with a glass of wine in their hand to show people how westernised they are. They envy the western lifestyle, and this has been a big trend over the past five years and will really take off in the next three. Everyone goes to McDonalds in china now, and even a hamburger is five times the price of a bowl of noodles. Again, they want a western experience and they don’t mind paying for it. When I bring groups of Asians out to Australia they will often take a picture of the bus driver just because he’s a westerner.”
Although this text dates from 2005, i believe it is exemplarily of the type of measures that will be pivotal to Wong's economic policy and methods of boosting the economy. No doubt they would be successful but I believe we need to reinforce and develop our local character and identity within the national and international community, whilst maintaining our incredible quality standards, creative integrity and unique global vantage point. We don’t need to be selling our city as something that perhaps does not exist yet to busineses from various parts of the globe. What a disaster it would be to over-saturate our city or vulturise our marketplace before it is fully formed and truly ready to sustain big business interactions on a global scale.
“Francis puts much of his business success down to relationships. He has built up a vast network of local and international contacts, and his next big business venture involves using his connections to introduce Asians to Australian wine – and not the cheap stuff.”
“Francis Wong understands the importance of keeping abreast both the domestic and international market environment. His ability of understanding the value of capitalizing on networks has brought many rewards to the Business, Tourism and Multicultural community of South Australia and Australia.”
Excellent, sounds like someone we need managing our business affairs… It is clear to me that Mr. Wong is a brilliant and talented business man, and probably an excellent ambassador for the state as well. But why not have mr Wong on the city council focusing his energies on our business relations with the world and helping to foster and administrate the blossoming business culture developing within our new community? That way he can focus on his areas of forte without being distracted by even more constant nagging from city residents.
Why not have a strong young intelligent local as the head of the system? Let’s not forget that the mayor is the engine that drives the machine, the councilors are the cogs and wheels that make it all happen. Do you want someone in charge of planning and development who will actually listen to and consider input from you? You the person, the artist, the tenant, the average Joe on the street corner. You the landlord, the small & large business operator or you the party person? Or do you want biased, narrow minded approaches to developing Adelaide that operate within traditional boundaries and are aligned with the interests of organized politically backed corporate conglomerates?
In traditional and historical implementations of this type of system whoever has the most money will have the most influence on the development of the city. We don’t need to generate wealth here in Adelaide. We are wealth. No other city with such a small population has such a high density of creative, artistic, technologically advanced, unique and amazing people and all we need to do is to draw our resources together and link up the system so that greater opportunity exists for letting out our achievements and sharing them with each other and the world.
Some may fear that having a lord mayor with a penchant for spouting radical ideas and pushing for the implementation of future technologies could lead us into a trap, cripple our economy and push us into years of debt-paying recession to ‘get back into the green’ so to speak. But that is the beauty of council. There is a panel representing the varied interests and collective intelligence of all strata of the community who can push, pull, twist and biopsy any facet of any proposal and move to veto ridiculously outrageous ideas. We need to build our city our way, in our image, to reflect our principles. Otherwise we have nothing at all to sell to the world, rather, we would be just another reflection of the increasingly virilous homogenised world culture that seems to be emerging from tv screens around the globe.
Considering the fact that we will be embracing and incorporating future technologies over this mayoral term, I think we must ask; can someone born outside of the generational influences of modern technology truly be intuitive about the direction things need to go? I believe it is preferable for our mayor to have in-depth first hand knowledge on as broad a range of topics as possible.
I find it interesting that Mr. Yarwood has equal council/governmental achievement and experience to some other candidates yet is only a portion of their years in age. This is the reflection of a life devoted and dedicated to a purpose and that is the type of quality I like to see in a leader, and in a lord mayor.
I sometimes like to fantasize and judge the worth of a person according to their usefulness following some sort of apocalyptic event that has occurred and wiped out our modern way of life as we know it. In a situation such as this you get to see a persons real capabilities and resourcefulness shine through because there is no facilities and anything you want to get done you have to do it all yourself on your own grit. Mr. Yarwood is like a walking repository of knowledge encompassing government, urban planning & development. You get the feeling that the guy could build a city from scratch in the middle of the desert if he needed to.
Just another little anecdote that I feel illustrates my point even more is that whilst traveling around the world Stephen was learning how and teaching others to build a city from the ground up and how to maintain and continually develop that city into a more efficient, more livable and more sustainable place. On the other hand Mr. Wong's travels were business related and all about advertising and selling South Australia to the world and making business connections. While i appreciate that this is useful and also important, for me it is too narrow a skills set and range of focus for a lord mayor. And I don't particularly want my state 'sold to the world'. Referring back to my apocalypse scenario, without cities, there is no money or indeed any use for money. Without a well run, planned and developed city what is the point for money? People with money naturally tend to gravitate towards the best cities where there is the most excitement and opportunity for them to spend their money.
I’ve often seen Adelaide as the perfect testing grounds for political and social change. We have such a well layed-out city, good infrastructure and a relatively manageable population size and if we were forward thinking and on the front foot we could implement alternative and futuristic technologies and policies here to set an example for the rest of the world where there is bigger cities with more complex problems, doing more damage to our environment. In this way Adelaide could be a world leader, in it’s own unique way.
Everything we need to be a big-business culture is already here, alive and well, nestled and nurtured, all we need is the infrastructure to bring it all together, from the ground up and help connect the synapses and stranded individuals. I believe we need to reinforce and develop our local character and identity within the national and international community, whilst maintaining our incredible quality standards, creative integrity and unique global vantage point. We don’t need to be selling our city as something that perhaps does not exist yet to businesses from various parts of the globe.
bi·as
[bahy-uhs] noun, adjective, adverb, verb, bi·ased, bi·as·ing or bi·assed, bi·as·sing.
; a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice.
Please don't get me wrong. I bear no resentment at all to anyone in this election race, especially not a man who quotes the following from Confucius in relation to the running of the city of Adelaide;
"If there be righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there be beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there be harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there be order in the nation, there will be peace in the world"
Or at least Mr. Wong has a direct link to this after his mayoral youtube videos. That’s quoting in this day and age, right?
So there you have it. The stances of the candidates have been taken, and what strong and clear ideological stances they are. Now it is time for voters to decide who they wish to align with and back up their candidate to the hilt.
I am not anti-Wong. I just find that that the philosophies of Yarwood/Clark are so much more in line with my own personal vision. The way that they will see in the future of Adelaide is a future that I would be thrilled to be a part of.
This is of course not an entirely factual article but a blog, representative of my personal opinion and i do have my reasons for writing it which are this; Stephen Yarwood bumped into me whilst i was at work in the CBD on Hindley st. and introduced himself to me and started explaining a bit about his philosophies and the fact that he was running as a lord mayoral candidate. I truly found that the ideas he was speaking to me were ideals that i had already formed independently and I found it hard to believe that there was someone this cool and this informed actually running for a position of influence in the city. Until this moment i had been totally unaware that there was an election coming up at all and I had never heard the names of any of the candidates. This was about 3 weeks ago and it triggered a mad study-rush of me filtering through as much information about the election and the candidates as i could.
It struck me that most people were probably just as in the dark or mal-informed as I was, so i decided to present all of the most relevant information that i discovered during my researching so that people, especially voters can read it all in one place and begin to form their own opinions and get a firmer grasp of what's going on and try to appreciate the entire scope and the implications of this election. And of course vote!!
Although I strongly identify with Yarwood's vision, I must also say that i extremely enjoyed talking to Ralph Clarke and found the man to be totally agreeable, well spoken and full of integrity. I would not have a problem at all if he was the one to get elected, I just find that I identify more with Stephen because he is young and so am I. To hear a sound recording of my interview with Ralph go here; http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
My main aim here is to get you to vote, because 6000 out of 21,000 voters is not going to give our city a leader who is truly representative of ourselves is it? I just hate seeing statistics like that, then hearing people whinge and moan about how crap our Adelaide is.
Don't forget that local council elections are currently occurring all over South Australia aswell so get involved in you local council!
For me Yarwood is the man and if he doesn’t win I’m going to kidnap him, put him in a helicopter and drop him in the middle of the desert with a saw, a pencil and an ice pick and he will build a better city than Adelaide and be not mayor but king!
Footnotes
[1] Ralph Clarke, vision for Adelaide, more people means more opportunities for everyonehttp://www.ralphclarke.net.au/vision-for-adelaide.html
[2] http://vimeo.com/13826541
[3] http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/development/victoria-square.html?s=1584568815
[4] www.franciswong.com.au
[5] http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/council-elections-time-to-have-a-say/story-e6frea83-1225940383428
[6] http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/council-elections-time-to-have-a-say/story-e6frea83-1225940383428
Adelaide is on the cusp of great change. Over the next few weeks important decisions with far reaching implications are going to be made that will shape the future of Adelaide and guide the way we see our city develop over the next 25 years and into the new century. This is the part of the century in which we will forever lay the mental and physical foundations for the growth of whatever feats of achievement become part of human life and endeavor throughout the rest of the 21st century.
Of course, being Adelaide, no one really knows what’s going on and most are barely aware that this mega-important event is happening, or indeed the gravity of its outcomes. Although the decision reached by voters will have a huge effect on most people in the state in one form or another, very few of us actually get to make the decision. There is a reason for this, of course, and that is because it is a local council election.
The voters in this election will be residents of the CBD of Adelaide and North Adelaide, people owning or operating a business in the CBD and international students living and studying in the CBD. All who are eligible to vote must be registered and up to date on the electoral roll. But that is another story altogether!
Last election roughly 6000 out of 21,000 potential voters cast a ballot in the mayoral election and it is commonly understood that this time around a total of 2500 votes should be enough to win the mayorship. Not much, especially considering that the outcome of the election has ramifications for a population of one million people.
To clarify if you are actually eligible to vote go here;http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/council/elections/enrolling-to-vote.html
2010 Ballot Packs are being mailed out to voters, starting tomorrow Monday the 25th with the last ballots arriving in voters mailboxes on Friday the 29th of October 2010. Voters then have until the close of voting on Friday the 12th November 2010 at 5pm to mail their ballots in for counting. If voters cannot have their ballot paper in the post to arrive on time, they can attend their local council office and hand in their vote by 5pm Friday November 12. The vote count occurs on Saturday, 13 November 2010 which means we should know who is the new mayor when we pick up the Advertiser on the morning of Monday the 15th of November.
Furthermore, in keeping up with the technological advancements of today, the Electoral Commission has also set up a free SMS election reminder service. Voters who take up the option will be sent three reminders to vote.
You can register for this service at www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/remindme.
Here are links to my interviews with some of the candidates
Stephen Yarwood part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJRW33o9uI
Stephen Yarwood Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGcrJlKeFY
Francis Wong
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtSAXoCCqJU
Ralphe Clarke interview
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmugnS_g9Fo
Ralph Clarke - Audio
http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
First we must unite the candidates upon their common ground. And then we must distinguish the subtle differences that will characterise each of their potential mayorship’s.
Common to all leading candidates is the belief that Adelaide must become a more vibrant, flourishing and modernised city. Sorry stalwarts, but we’re in for change. It is likely that the cap on building heights will be removed or amended, which means we will be seeing taller buildings and potentially a skyscraper in Adelaide.
Whoever becomes mayor will be guiding the implementation of policies and infrastructure to keep abreast of the expected growth of the CBD’s residential population. The webpage of candidate Ralph Clarke states the figures of the current CBD population at something around 17 000[1] people. This number is expected to grow to around 45 000 during the course of the city’s development.
Naturally this also means that we shall be upgrading the public transport system and increasing the fluidity of the cities roadways. How far we are prepared to take this project and the way it is done will be highly dependent upon which candidate is chosen as mayor. If the right decision is made we could be talking about competing on the same level as the top public-transport driven cities in the world.
As far as I can distinguish, the main difference between Yarwood and Clarke’s public transport policy is the implementation of Copenhagen style[2] bike lanes, with a much heavier emphasis on bicycle transport coming from Yarwood’s corner. Both of these candidates advocate improving the efficiency and organising a major boost to the public transport system encompassing changes to all levels. Yarwood as always has integrated environmentally-friendly sustainable technology into his public transport strategy. Clarke is slightly doubtful of the potential for success of the Copenhagen style bike lane; another example of how the council automatically keeps itself in check. But in regards to that particular sort of system, I personally remain optimistic and believe that we could work to achieve a compromised Adelaide-Copenhagen type system and have great success.
[2] http://vimeo.com/13826541
A new super school is also on the cards in order to combat a top heavy education system in which CBD tertiary and secondary schools are well looked after and relatively up to date whilst CBD pre-schools, kindergartens and primary schools are lack lustre. An integrated super school is being proposed for the CBD to increase the number of youngsters we can educate in the CBD from kindergarten all the way through to university. This would also take the pressure off CBD high schools before they become too full and have more students then they should be expected to handle. Slightly more information can be found here: http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/call-for-city-super-school/
I think it is important, considering the state of the planet’s health, that we not only consider eco-friendly options when implementing our new infrastructure, but also that we upgrade existing infrastructure to sustainable and eco friendly standards. How high this issue sits upon the council's agenda, and how serious the situation is treated and ultimately dealt with, is another factor that is highly dependant on the priorities of the candidate who is elected mayor.
When I spoke to Candidates Clarke and Yarwood, both identified the arts as areas of major areas of focus for them. Mr. Clarke made the point that "the arts industry is worth more than 2 billion dollars a year. That's bigger than the AFL or NRL or cricket australia. We need to look at that both as a cultural necessity as well as an absolute economic driver. We as a small city need to concentrate on our strengths, and the arts is one of our strengths. We need to increase our funding in that area and we will do magnificently."
Full interview here: http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
Mr. Yarwood also identified with this and stated that he would atleast triple the current arts budget and make it easier for Adelaide artists to secure important projects or start a successful business if elected.
For those of you who don’t know; for some time now the council has been planning the development of Victoria Square. The plan is to turn the square into one of the arts, social and cultural hubs of the city. This process involves the square becoming a public space, specifically designed to accommodate cultural exposes, musical performances, stage acts and other events on a regular basis.
Also on the cards is the potential installation of a large television screen to be used for public broadcasting of significant events such as national sporting events and important public addresses. Also present on the site would be new cafes and restaurants that showcase the finest of our local produce, culinary talents and other creative endeavours.
This is how the situation is presented on the Adelaide city council’s Victoria square development website.
“The regeneration of Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga will lead to it becoming a more recognisable place within the City of Adelaide and a major tourist destination within Australia, creatively reinforcing and celebrating our unique South Australian culture – its natural landscape, climate, arts, festivals, food and wine. Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga will become one of the world's great public spaces, a unique Australian destination and meeting place.”[3]
To view that very development plan of which I speak for yourself (and save the tips of my fingers from becoming raw) , go here: http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/development/victoria-square.html
Ralph Clarke sums up some of the importance of this week’s election in this statement; "How our city looks in 25 years will largely be determined by the planning that the City Council does over the next four-year term, [That is] particularly with respect to the development plan for the city of Adelaide and preparing for an increase in our city's population.”
Currently the state government is required to sign off on all projects proposed by the council that are budgeted over $10,000,000. This is an issue which as viewed by some, is a way for the state government to potentially tie up council projects in political loops. There is a general consensus among the councillors that whomever becomes lord mayor will have to clarify and amend the council’s relationship with the state government to prevent red tape and political obstacles stopping the council from navigating a clear course through the council’s planning and development agenda. A sentiment which was recently voiced by Francis Wong, the candidate receiving the most political backing; “Make no mistake; for Adelaide to reach its full potential we have to work with the Government of the day, not be at odds with them.”[4]
[4] www.franciswong.com.au
In an attempt to understand this situation I chatted with candidate Ralph Clarke whilst making laps around the city in his car. He was able to raise my understanding of things to this level;
“Nowhere in the current council development standards is there a clause which states that buildings in Adelaide have to be of a high quality, the materials used to build must be of high quality, or that the public realm surrounding the building must be of high quality”.
The origins of the current development & assessment standards date back to a 2006 decision made by the council of the time to “remove impediments to getting more apartments built in the city.” This for me is an example of how decisions can be made at the top which are out of touch and driven mainly by economic & political factors which attempt to combat perceived fluctuations in profit margins & statistical data and are not truly reflective or representative of the best interests, and the spirit of the people of the city. In Ralph Clarke’s words; “All that (the council’s decision) did was to successfully bring in a lot of ugly buildings.”
With an amended council development approval process, we could see it become much easier for advanced constructions to occur around town, whilst at the same time the quality and aesthetic standards of our buildings will go up, if we pick the right candidate that is...
Any serious attempt at rolling out the necessary infrastructure to turn Adelaide into a globally competitive city this century (possibly this decade) involves the council having control over important civic projects, of course if they are to be of any worth or usefulness, they will be budgeted at over $10 million. What do we want? Cheap stuff???
If the amendments are made successfully, and the council is granted more autonomy and power, it is up to us, we the people and the voters to ensure that the 12 members of the council are truly representative of our interests, truly understand what it means to be Adelaidian, and of course have the necessary skills & knowledge to implement good plans and it get them done properly.
THE PRINCIPLES OF A GREAT CITY
The City of Adelaide's 2002 report Public Life and Public Spaces, by Gehl Architects, recommended six principles for achieving a great city:
- capitalise on unique qualities
- create a better city for walking
- create a better city for staying
- reduce through traffic
- create a beautiful city
- create a diverse, safe and lively city.
Exploring these principles and working within them will be a big step in creating the environment which ties all of Adelaide's resources and people together into a strong network which launches itself into the future.
This election it’s all about your choice people. It is actually YOUR choice. Have you ever yourself or have you overheard people complain about Adelaide, it’s backwards, it’s boring!, we have no power, the government has too much control, big business rules the world?
That is simply not true!! Nothing in politics is concrete. It is all dependent upon the legislation we let our elected members push through the parliament! Don’t forget, we elect the parliament. It is supposed to be by the people for the people right!?? Any belief otherwise is the product of blindfolded thinking and political spin indoctrination.
Are you sick of tied up progress, anonymous, unaccountable capitalists in control and kilometres of tangled political red tape in the way of getting things done?? Well the time to make the decision is right now! We can take control of the forward direction our city takes! Have you ever dreamed of things that should be done around town to make it a better place or observed faults that need to be fixed up? Well make sure you choose the candidate in this election who can help you achieve these dreams! Wake up Adelaide. Its time to stop sucking dinosaur eggs and time to finally step up to the podium and claim our rightful place as a world leader of sustainable, futuristic technologies’, artistic viberance and civic prosperity.
Whomever is elected lord mayor will get to have the most input and be offered the most opportunity to infuse their personal flare during the council’s meetings about how to spend the council’s budget on maintaining and improving Adelaide. As candidate Stephen Yarwood stated when I interviewed him;“the mayorship is a position of influence not power”
For me it is imperative that the lord mayor guiding the new council embodies the values that we want to see become our state’s future identity.
So what is the council, and what does the lord mayor actually do??
The Adelaide City Council is represented by 12 Members consisting of the Lord Mayor and 11 Councillors. The Lord Mayor and Councillors are elected by voters across the Adelaide City Council, and have a responsibility to the City as a whole. All Council members are elected for a four year term of office.
“COUNCILLORS are responsible for $16 billion worth of infrastructure and spend $1.5 billion each year on essential services,”[5]
The role of Lord Mayor is set out in the City of Adelaide Act, 1998.
The Lord Mayor will:
- be the principal elected member of Council representing the capital city of SA,
- provide leadership and guidance to the City of Adelaide community,
- participate in the maintenance of inter-governmental relationships at regional, state and national levels,
- carry out civic and ceremonial duties associated with the office of Lord Mayor and as the principal member of Council,
- provide leadership and guidance to the Council,
- preside at meetings of Council,
- advise the CEO on the implementation of decisions of Council between council meetings,
- act as the principal spokesperson of the Council,
- exercise other functions of the council as the Council determines.
It seems to me that candidates Yarwood and Clarke embody the same or at least similar ideals,however it reflects in different ways out of each of them because of their age difference and different upbringings. High on their agendas are making Adelaide a more integrated, sustainable, futuristic and liveable city, propped up by a grass roots culture and a true willingness to incorporate the opinions of and be influenced by everyday people.
“Mr Wong's highly visible media strategy has been co-ordinated by top advertising firm kwp! and former journalist Leigh McClusky, and has included TV advertisements and online videos.
Mr Wong said his "largely self-funded" campaign would cost $40,000 at most, with some contributions from leaders in the Chinese community.
"I did decide to avoid big developers because I was aware (of possible conflicts) later on (when) they might want to build a 100-storey building," he said. "In a campaign like this for mayor, there has to be some strategy and approach; it has to be a disciplined approach."
Several State Government ministers have been cold-calling leading city identities urging their support for Mr Wong, who also has the backing of Alexander Downer and the powerful Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which controls the ALP in SA. Union secretary Peter Malinauskas said Mr Wong was best "aligned" with the interests of his members.” - Adelaide now
…Indeed, perhaps investors will not get their own 100 story building, but what returns are expected on these investments? And by whom?. This for me, is typical of how behind the scenes ‘powerbrokers’can manipulate civic affairs from the shadows and use their influence and power through organisations and unions to unaccountably lean on their underlings. Which pretty much forces the people who they employ into voting for their ideals and policies, lest they ‘make the wrong decision’ and have their privileges revoked for voting incorrectly.
Exemplarily of the conflicting interests between state government-backed corporate Adelaide and the bona-fide( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_faith ) population of the city is the annual influx of revellers, rev-heads (commonly referred to as bogans) and tourist dollars for the clipsal 500’s each year in march. For me it highlights some parts of our state’s character that I would like to see eradicated, or at least downplayed from the national psyche. Not to mention the event shamelessly imposes itself upon the city and its population with loud, incredibly LOUD noises all day every day for 3 days and floods the streets with drunk bogans every night after the races. No wonder we are the butt of derogatory jibes from pretty much every state in the country!
For me it (the clipsal) is an example of trying to generate money and stimulate the economy by temporary influx measures rather than implementing clever, sustainable and local networking systems that give our city real character, our young people real opportunity for a future that consistently pays off (into our economy) every single day of the year; and creates and strengthens the community.
photo - Adelaide now http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/heavy-hitters-back-businessman-for-mayor/story-e6frea83-1225939616595
“Fellow candidate Ralph Clarke said, yesterday, Mr Wong's high-profile campaign was more about style than substance.”[6]
"I certainly can't afford it (TV advertising)," he said. "Are we going to end up with an American-style system where only the wealthy can afford to campaign?" -Clarke.
This is indeed something that may have to be considered in the 2014 lord mayoral elections if once again, the old boy’s network is allowed to twist the cities mechanisms around their little fingers. This truly is an election of principles. Principles that involve shifting power from traditional big business fueled economy to an integrated corporate & grassroots, open and free enterprising economy by the people for the people, as opposed to an even more complex version of current leanings where money equals power and the more money one has or the more people one knows with money, the more influence they have.
In regards to money equalling power, just remember this man; (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg8rSLfwK_g) is now the governor of California.
Mr. Clarke went on to clarify; "We won't get where we need to be by glitzy lunches with PR ladies, expensive TV ads, a t-shirt with a slogan from seedy, Vietnam War R&R bars and influential backers with clear, vested interests."
Anyone not sure about the origin of the Wong time slogan should (or perhaps should not) follow this link;
http://www.blogotariat.com/node/204212
Money talks, Stephen Yarwood walks. As I write these words Mr. Yarwood will be near the completion of his self-imposed task of door knocking every single, yes every single door in the constituency. That is a mammoth task, and exposes him to people and opinions which people playing the game at such a high level are not usually exposed to. You have got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk to be a good mayor.
Apart from door knocking, other initiatives taken by Mr.Yarwood have been to establish himself as the first paperless politician in the country (which also means first paperless lord mayor candidate) Using a palmtop style mobile phone, he has been receiving all information digitally and therefore eliminating the need for paper.
To introduce you to Each of the main candidates I have highlighted a portion of their biography here, to read the rest, visit their website's.
Francis Wong
"Francis Wong is a prominent figure in marketing Australia as the tourism and business destination. He is well known as an accomplished leader as well as a spokesperson for the Asian Inbound Tourism Industry in Australia and is one of the Business Ambassadors for South Australia appointed by the South Australia Government. He also sits on the peak national tourism body, Australian Tourism Export Council as a board member, Chair the Asian Tourism Industry Advisory Panel. He is also an Area Councillor for Adelaide City Council.
He migrated from Brunei Darussalam in 1988 to establish Encounter Australia Pty Ltd., which is now one of the leading and most awarded national Inbound Tourism companies in Australia. He also co-managed a successful outbound travel company trading as Lai Lai Travel.
His other business interests are Endeavour Australia Pty Ltd, a firm specializing in promoting trade, projects development and marketing between Australia and Asia, Top 8 Wines Pty Ltd, a premium wine exporting business and BBX Adelaide, a barter business to business exchange.
Francis Wong’s positive attitude and entrepreneurial style has won respect in Australia and Asia. His experience in various industries in Australia, coupled with his influential network within the governments and private enterprise has brought many rewards to the Australian tourism industry and communities. This has also led to him being awarded the Council for International Trade and Commerce of South Australia (CITCSA) International Business Ambassador for 3 consecutive years, 2002, 2003 and 2004. In 2005 he was awarded as CITCSA Life Business Ambassador.
In 1998, he was appointed by the Australian Federal Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs to serve on the Business Advisory Panel, advising the Minister and the Department on the national skill migration policy.
In 2003, he is the first Asian in Australia to receive the prestigious national award – ‘Most Outstanding Contributing by an Individual to the Australian Tourism Export"
www.franciswong.com.au
Stephen Yarwood
."I am a passionate Town Planner with expertise in understanding the future of cities. I am 39 years old, have lived, worked and/or studied in the city for around 20 years and my personal interests include cities, technology, food/culture, photography, sustainability, arts and design.
Elected to the Adelaide City Council in 2007, I was elected Deputy Lord Mayor in 2009. I'm a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors and have a Bachelor of Arts (Planning), Graduate Diploma (Regional and Urban Planning) and Graduate Diploma (Environmental Studies). I've just completed my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at The University of Adelaide and will graduate in December of this year.
My business is developing cities. I have nearly 20 years experience as a City Planner, working extensively in State Government, in the South Australian Parliament as an Environment, Resources and Development Researcher and as the Principal Town Planner at the City of Playford. I have also researched and/or lectured in Australia, Denmark, the USA, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand on environment and development planning and management, as well as studying future cities in Japan's technology city, Tsukuba.
I am currently the Presiding Member of the Local Government Association committee overseeing the State/Local Government Climate Change Sector Agreement and have been on the Capital City Committee, Adelaide Convention and Tourism Authority Board and the Adelaide High School Governing Council.
My major achievements at Adelaide City Council have been to:
- Become the first fully digital and paperless elected member in Australia
- Gain additional funding to make Adelaide cleaner and greener
- Provide leadership in modernisation of the corporation for greater efficiency
- Support and get further funding for business tourism
- Advocate for increasing the city population, the arts and multiculturalism
- Facilitate community and Council carbon emission reductions and energy savings
- Expand the free city wireless network to be the nations largest
- Push for laneway development and streamlining of rules for implementation
- Make Adelaide the 1st Fair Trade Capital City in Australia"
Ralph Clarke
"One of three children, I was born on 4/10/1951 and raised in Walkerville SA. After leaving high school in January 1969, I joined Stenhouse Wallace Bruce, Insurance Brokers, as a junior clerk. I also joined the Insurance Employees Union and became a committee member. While working for Stenhouse, I studied for the Associate Diploma in Insurance Studies.
In 1984, at the invitation of the SA Branch Council of FCU (federated Clerks Union), I was appointed secretary on the retirement of the long-serving Harry Krantz. I was elected Secretary in a contested election in 1985. In 1991 I was elected National President of FCU.
I joined what was then the Young Labor Association in 1966 at the age of 14. In 1993 I was elected to the SA Parliament as the Member for Ross Smith. I remained a member of the ALP until November 2001 when I resigned to contest the seat of Enfield as an independent in February 2002.
After losing the seat of Enfield (formerly Ross Smith) in 2002 I opened my own IR consultancy business. I appear as an advocate for people who have been unfairly dismissed or have been underpaid. I charge a nominal rate: I’m not wealthy but I can survive well enough on what I have and this is my way of “putting something back”.
In 2007 I was elected as a Councillor with the Adelaide City Council."
I am fortunate to have travelled widely: - Soviet Union (including Uzbekistan), UK, Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, USA, South Africa, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore."
www.ralphclarke.net.au
For me these three are the main candidates who will be commanding the majority of voters support in this election. We can already identify key points of their characters by studying their backgrounds and the decisions they have made to get them to where they are in life.
Most people who ever tried to act intelligent in general conversation would probably be familiar with the concept of the Freudian slip ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freudian_slip )… This is a statement made by Wong which i believe is telling as to where his allegiances lie;
“we have unlimited potential if we, the Adelaide city council, welcome comment and ideas and genuinely listen to our business partners” - In Daily.
I think that a mayor should be someone who understands the ins and outs of what makes a city tick as opposed to someone who has merely learned to operate successfully within it’s intricate systems and parameters.
This is a text from Francis Wong's Top 8 wine company website which I have used to highlight what i see as a big difference in stance between Mr. Wong and candidates Clarke/Yarwood.
"Francis is targeting the growing number of wealthy Asians who aspire to a western lifestyle and see wine as a status symbol.
anything western is very attractive to a lot of Asians right now. Wine has a lot of status among Asians and they like to be seen with a glass of wine in their hand to show people how westernised they are. They envy the western lifestyle, and this has been a big trend over the past five years and will really take off in the next three. Everyone goes to McDonalds in china now, and even a hamburger is five times the price of a bowl of noodles. Again, they want a western experience and they don’t mind paying for it. When I bring groups of Asians out to Australia they will often take a picture of the bus driver just because he’s a westerner.”
Although this text dates from 2005, i believe it is exemplarily of the type of measures that will be pivotal to Wong's economic policy and methods of boosting the economy. No doubt they would be successful but I believe we need to reinforce and develop our local character and identity within the national and international community, whilst maintaining our incredible quality standards, creative integrity and unique global vantage point. We don’t need to be selling our city as something that perhaps does not exist yet to busineses from various parts of the globe. What a disaster it would be to over-saturate our city or vulturise our marketplace before it is fully formed and truly ready to sustain big business interactions on a global scale.
“Francis puts much of his business success down to relationships. He has built up a vast network of local and international contacts, and his next big business venture involves using his connections to introduce Asians to Australian wine – and not the cheap stuff.”
“Francis Wong understands the importance of keeping abreast both the domestic and international market environment. His ability of understanding the value of capitalizing on networks has brought many rewards to the Business, Tourism and Multicultural community of South Australia and Australia.”
Excellent, sounds like someone we need managing our business affairs… It is clear to me that Mr. Wong is a brilliant and talented business man, and probably an excellent ambassador for the state as well. But why not have mr Wong on the city council focusing his energies on our business relations with the world and helping to foster and administrate the blossoming business culture developing within our new community? That way he can focus on his areas of forte without being distracted by even more constant nagging from city residents.
Why not have a strong young intelligent local as the head of the system? Let’s not forget that the mayor is the engine that drives the machine, the councilors are the cogs and wheels that make it all happen. Do you want someone in charge of planning and development who will actually listen to and consider input from you? You the person, the artist, the tenant, the average Joe on the street corner. You the landlord, the small & large business operator or you the party person? Or do you want biased, narrow minded approaches to developing Adelaide that operate within traditional boundaries and are aligned with the interests of organized politically backed corporate conglomerates?
In traditional and historical implementations of this type of system whoever has the most money will have the most influence on the development of the city. We don’t need to generate wealth here in Adelaide. We are wealth. No other city with such a small population has such a high density of creative, artistic, technologically advanced, unique and amazing people and all we need to do is to draw our resources together and link up the system so that greater opportunity exists for letting out our achievements and sharing them with each other and the world.
Some may fear that having a lord mayor with a penchant for spouting radical ideas and pushing for the implementation of future technologies could lead us into a trap, cripple our economy and push us into years of debt-paying recession to ‘get back into the green’ so to speak. But that is the beauty of council. There is a panel representing the varied interests and collective intelligence of all strata of the community who can push, pull, twist and biopsy any facet of any proposal and move to veto ridiculously outrageous ideas. We need to build our city our way, in our image, to reflect our principles. Otherwise we have nothing at all to sell to the world, rather, we would be just another reflection of the increasingly virilous homogenised world culture that seems to be emerging from tv screens around the globe.
Considering the fact that we will be embracing and incorporating future technologies over this mayoral term, I think we must ask; can someone born outside of the generational influences of modern technology truly be intuitive about the direction things need to go? I believe it is preferable for our mayor to have in-depth first hand knowledge on as broad a range of topics as possible.
I find it interesting that Mr. Yarwood has equal council/governmental achievement and experience to some other candidates yet is only a portion of their years in age. This is the reflection of a life devoted and dedicated to a purpose and that is the type of quality I like to see in a leader, and in a lord mayor.
I sometimes like to fantasize and judge the worth of a person according to their usefulness following some sort of apocalyptic event that has occurred and wiped out our modern way of life as we know it. In a situation such as this you get to see a persons real capabilities and resourcefulness shine through because there is no facilities and anything you want to get done you have to do it all yourself on your own grit. Mr. Yarwood is like a walking repository of knowledge encompassing government, urban planning & development. You get the feeling that the guy could build a city from scratch in the middle of the desert if he needed to.
Just another little anecdote that I feel illustrates my point even more is that whilst traveling around the world Stephen was learning how and teaching others to build a city from the ground up and how to maintain and continually develop that city into a more efficient, more livable and more sustainable place. On the other hand Mr. Wong's travels were business related and all about advertising and selling South Australia to the world and making business connections. While i appreciate that this is useful and also important, for me it is too narrow a skills set and range of focus for a lord mayor. And I don't particularly want my state 'sold to the world'. Referring back to my apocalypse scenario, without cities, there is no money or indeed any use for money. Without a well run, planned and developed city what is the point for money? People with money naturally tend to gravitate towards the best cities where there is the most excitement and opportunity for them to spend their money.
I’ve often seen Adelaide as the perfect testing grounds for political and social change. We have such a well layed-out city, good infrastructure and a relatively manageable population size and if we were forward thinking and on the front foot we could implement alternative and futuristic technologies and policies here to set an example for the rest of the world where there is bigger cities with more complex problems, doing more damage to our environment. In this way Adelaide could be a world leader, in it’s own unique way.
Everything we need to be a big-business culture is already here, alive and well, nestled and nurtured, all we need is the infrastructure to bring it all together, from the ground up and help connect the synapses and stranded individuals. I believe we need to reinforce and develop our local character and identity within the national and international community, whilst maintaining our incredible quality standards, creative integrity and unique global vantage point. We don’t need to be selling our city as something that perhaps does not exist yet to businesses from various parts of the globe.
bi·as
[bahy-uhs] noun, adjective, adverb, verb, bi·ased, bi·as·ing or bi·assed, bi·as·sing.
; a particular tendency or inclination, esp. one that prevents unprejudiced consideration of a question; prejudice.
Please don't get me wrong. I bear no resentment at all to anyone in this election race, especially not a man who quotes the following from Confucius in relation to the running of the city of Adelaide;
"If there be righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character. If there be beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home. If there be harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation. If there be order in the nation, there will be peace in the world"
Or at least Mr. Wong has a direct link to this after his mayoral youtube videos. That’s quoting in this day and age, right?
So there you have it. The stances of the candidates have been taken, and what strong and clear ideological stances they are. Now it is time for voters to decide who they wish to align with and back up their candidate to the hilt.
I am not anti-Wong. I just find that that the philosophies of Yarwood/Clark are so much more in line with my own personal vision. The way that they will see in the future of Adelaide is a future that I would be thrilled to be a part of.
This is of course not an entirely factual article but a blog, representative of my personal opinion and i do have my reasons for writing it which are this; Stephen Yarwood bumped into me whilst i was at work in the CBD on Hindley st. and introduced himself to me and started explaining a bit about his philosophies and the fact that he was running as a lord mayoral candidate. I truly found that the ideas he was speaking to me were ideals that i had already formed independently and I found it hard to believe that there was someone this cool and this informed actually running for a position of influence in the city. Until this moment i had been totally unaware that there was an election coming up at all and I had never heard the names of any of the candidates. This was about 3 weeks ago and it triggered a mad study-rush of me filtering through as much information about the election and the candidates as i could.
It struck me that most people were probably just as in the dark or mal-informed as I was, so i decided to present all of the most relevant information that i discovered during my researching so that people, especially voters can read it all in one place and begin to form their own opinions and get a firmer grasp of what's going on and try to appreciate the entire scope and the implications of this election. And of course vote!!
Although I strongly identify with Yarwood's vision, I must also say that i extremely enjoyed talking to Ralph Clarke and found the man to be totally agreeable, well spoken and full of integrity. I would not have a problem at all if he was the one to get elected, I just find that I identify more with Stephen because he is young and so am I. To hear a sound recording of my interview with Ralph go here; http://soundcloud.com/adelaide-artists/ralph-clarke-interview
My main aim here is to get you to vote, because 6000 out of 21,000 voters is not going to give our city a leader who is truly representative of ourselves is it? I just hate seeing statistics like that, then hearing people whinge and moan about how crap our Adelaide is.
Don't forget that local council elections are currently occurring all over South Australia aswell so get involved in you local council!
For me Yarwood is the man and if he doesn’t win I’m going to kidnap him, put him in a helicopter and drop him in the middle of the desert with a saw, a pencil and an ice pick and he will build a better city than Adelaide and be not mayor but king!
Footnotes
[1] Ralph Clarke, vision for Adelaide, more people means more opportunities for everyonehttp://www.ralphclarke.net.au/vision-for-adelaide.html
[2] http://vimeo.com/13826541
[3] http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/development/victoria-square.html?s=1584568815
[4] www.franciswong.com.au
[5] http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/council-elections-time-to-have-a-say/story-e6frea83-1225940383428
[6] http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/council-elections-time-to-have-a-say/story-e6frea83-1225940383428