As the Griffith City Council byelection approaches, The Area News chats with the candidates to see what makes them tick.
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Name: Glen Andreazza Age: 52
Family: Julie and I have been married for 30 years and we have four children. Daniel, 25, an accountant and farmer, Laura, 23, a law graduate, Brendan, 19, completing a fitter and machinist apprenticeship, and Teneeka, 17, captain of Marian Catholic College.
Occupation: I am a third-generation farmer running an irrigated property 19 kilometres south of Griffith growing wheat, canola, rice and recently corn.
How long have you lived in Griffith? I was born and raised in Griffith.
Best part of living in Griffith? I have a love and passion for Griffith. It is a wonderful place to bring up a family, and the region provides us with the satisfying opportunity to grow food for the world.
Why are you running? I see Griffith’s future as very positive, and I’d like to help shape the city’s potential. Encouraging and facilitating new investment and development will help Griffith continue to grow. Also important is promoting opportunities for education and alternative industries like tourism giving our young people reasons to stay.
How would you assess performance of current council? Council may not always get it right, but nor do they get everything wrong. Great things can be achieved by being more open to people’s ideas and being proactive to their needs.
If elected, what would you lobby for? I would work toward improving important infrastructure to assist industry and business. We also need to focus on the needs of our growing community, especially education and health services and increased affordable housing while also looking after our senior residents through quality aged care.
What are the main issues you see? A lack of skilled workers causes concern for both large and small businesses, and this needs to be addressed by attracting experienced workers as well as upskilling existing Griffith residents. Transport infrastructure needs to be improved, from air and road through to bike lanes and footpaths. We also need to resolve the issues at Lake Wyangan and work on flood mitigation.
What are the best ways council can help businesses prosper? We must fight for a fairer outcome to the MDBA plan as agriculture is the basis for our economy. Another way is cutting red tape, removing hurdles and streamlining processes.
What major projects you would champion? I am focused on seeing Griffith thrive as a community, so anything I can do to facilitate our city’s success, that’s where I will be.
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