Mikhaela Barlow, Island Ward Where do you live?
I grew up in Cowes, but after a housefire and eviction, moved to Cape Woolamai.
How long have you lived in Bass Coast?
My whole life—I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never actually lived off Phillip Island.
What is your previous community involvement (voluntary work or membership), either in Bass Coast or another area?
I’ve volunteered at the Vietnam Veterans’ Museum, both in the café and cataloguing, as well as volunteering for the MIF Visitor’s Scheme.
I was also involved in the Anti-Desal Campaign.
I’ve been working with the homeless for the past 5 years, and during that time I have been successful in finding houses for half a dozen homeless people.
I grew up in Cowes, but after a housefire and eviction, moved to Cape Woolamai.
How long have you lived in Bass Coast?
My whole life—I’ve never lived anywhere else. I’ve never actually lived off Phillip Island.
What is your previous community involvement (voluntary work or membership), either in Bass Coast or another area?
I’ve volunteered at the Vietnam Veterans’ Museum, both in the café and cataloguing, as well as volunteering for the MIF Visitor’s Scheme.
I was also involved in the Anti-Desal Campaign.
I’ve been working with the homeless for the past 5 years, and during that time I have been successful in finding houses for half a dozen homeless people.
Have you stood for election before in local, state or federal government?
I stood in the previous Bass Coast Shire Election, 2016.
Do you belong to a political party?
No. I am a progressive, Climate Crisis, independent candidate.
Name the five local issues that you consider most important and explain how you think the council should tackle them.
Issue 1: Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery
Without a thriving economy, we have no hope of mitigating the effects of Climate Change, installing needed infrastructure or satisfying the needs of the community. Council must, as a priority, develop a Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery Plan that focuses around a Small Events Strategy in order to jumpstart our economy
Issue 2: Climate Crisis
It’s clear that the Climate is in crisis. It’s also clear that we need to do something about it. The Plan towards zero emissions as submitted by Council has some very great points, however it is clear that the community consultation was lacking due to the Pandemic, and I believe the Plan is missing some key features, particularly as it regards new technology. I believe the Plan needs rewriting, and stronger emphasis needs to be placed on alternatives like: steam and organic cleaners instead of weedkillers or corrosive cleaners or e-bikes and e-cargo-bikes instead of cars and utes.
Issue 3: Bike Path Network
Our Bike Path Strategy needs revisiting. The current Plan is clearly not delivering the results the community needs. I have a plan that will deliver faster, outlined on my website: www.blueskyfuturesresearch.com, that involves the use of single tracks as a start off point, before moving onto gravel shared-paths and possibly I believe that we need to link every estate and township on the Island, and all over Bass Coast. Not only will this lead to general better health for the community, it also means that less cars will be on the road—the cargo-bike in particular will, I believe, be used far more regularly than it is now, as people realise they can do the shopping without a car—leading to less carbon output and less wildlife killed on our roads.
Issue 4: Homelessness Crisis
With the deconstruction of the Miners’ Rest, Bass Coast has lost its only crisis accommodation. I’ve been working with the homeless for the past five years, and I understand the scale of the problem in great detail. While Council has little that it can do in regards to the price market, they can redraw the Planning Scheme to allow for easier construction of tiny homes, suitable for singles or couples, which must include a provision for emergency housing for those fleeing domestic Violence. The Eco Resort in Cowes comes to mind as the perfect example of such a tiny home development which includes public facilities such as boardwalks, playgrounds, barbeques and restaurant, with lovely vegetation throughout.
Issue 5: Lack of Job Prospects for Young People
One of the things I am grateful for is the fact that I didn’t need to move away from my home in order to find a job after leaving school. However, many of my friends and age peers have not been so lucky. Many of them are forced to move away as there are no job prospects here apart from the seasonal tourist trade. The Pandemic has shown us that it is possible for much of our workforce to work from home. We need to adapt to this new sector of the economy and develop Policy which encourages and incentivizes businesses operating in the Digital Economy to establish or relocate here. The goal here is to try and diversify our economy, growing more small and micro businesses to employ tertiary qualified professionals to. Hopefully this might enable some of our own kids to come back and work here when they’ve finished qualifying at university instead of being forced to work elsewhere and help to future-proof our economy against any unforeseen event like the Pandemic that causes a complete halt to the main sectors of our business community.
I stood in the previous Bass Coast Shire Election, 2016.
Do you belong to a political party?
No. I am a progressive, Climate Crisis, independent candidate.
Name the five local issues that you consider most important and explain how you think the council should tackle them.
Issue 1: Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery
Without a thriving economy, we have no hope of mitigating the effects of Climate Change, installing needed infrastructure or satisfying the needs of the community. Council must, as a priority, develop a Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery Plan that focuses around a Small Events Strategy in order to jumpstart our economy
Issue 2: Climate Crisis
It’s clear that the Climate is in crisis. It’s also clear that we need to do something about it. The Plan towards zero emissions as submitted by Council has some very great points, however it is clear that the community consultation was lacking due to the Pandemic, and I believe the Plan is missing some key features, particularly as it regards new technology. I believe the Plan needs rewriting, and stronger emphasis needs to be placed on alternatives like: steam and organic cleaners instead of weedkillers or corrosive cleaners or e-bikes and e-cargo-bikes instead of cars and utes.
Issue 3: Bike Path Network
Our Bike Path Strategy needs revisiting. The current Plan is clearly not delivering the results the community needs. I have a plan that will deliver faster, outlined on my website: www.blueskyfuturesresearch.com, that involves the use of single tracks as a start off point, before moving onto gravel shared-paths and possibly I believe that we need to link every estate and township on the Island, and all over Bass Coast. Not only will this lead to general better health for the community, it also means that less cars will be on the road—the cargo-bike in particular will, I believe, be used far more regularly than it is now, as people realise they can do the shopping without a car—leading to less carbon output and less wildlife killed on our roads.
Issue 4: Homelessness Crisis
With the deconstruction of the Miners’ Rest, Bass Coast has lost its only crisis accommodation. I’ve been working with the homeless for the past five years, and I understand the scale of the problem in great detail. While Council has little that it can do in regards to the price market, they can redraw the Planning Scheme to allow for easier construction of tiny homes, suitable for singles or couples, which must include a provision for emergency housing for those fleeing domestic Violence. The Eco Resort in Cowes comes to mind as the perfect example of such a tiny home development which includes public facilities such as boardwalks, playgrounds, barbeques and restaurant, with lovely vegetation throughout.
Issue 5: Lack of Job Prospects for Young People
One of the things I am grateful for is the fact that I didn’t need to move away from my home in order to find a job after leaving school. However, many of my friends and age peers have not been so lucky. Many of them are forced to move away as there are no job prospects here apart from the seasonal tourist trade. The Pandemic has shown us that it is possible for much of our workforce to work from home. We need to adapt to this new sector of the economy and develop Policy which encourages and incentivizes businesses operating in the Digital Economy to establish or relocate here. The goal here is to try and diversify our economy, growing more small and micro businesses to employ tertiary qualified professionals to. Hopefully this might enable some of our own kids to come back and work here when they’ve finished qualifying at university instead of being forced to work elsewhere and help to future-proof our economy against any unforeseen event like the Pandemic that causes a complete halt to the main sectors of our business community.