September 8 2017

Tomorrow is election day and voters in the areas will be relieved it is over after a month of solid campaigning.

The last week has seen an increase in posts as the candidates who have pages on Facebook have been giving more details on their plans for the future if they are elected.

We’ve seen things like Kerbside Recycling, Truck Stops, Town Hall, Arts, Finances and more being discussed by candidates and voters.

Below is once again all the candidates with links to their pages;

Deniliquin
Norm Brennan
Airlie Circuitt
Ashley Hall
Norm McAllister
Pete Robinson
Sue Taylor
Peter Connell
Andrew Howley
Jeff Shand
Pat Fogarty
James Sides
Peta Betts

Warragoon
Nick Metcalfe

Conargo
Rob Sobolewski

Wanganella
Mac Wallace

Booroorban
Peter McCrabb

Moonbria
Margaret Bull

Voting can be done at the following locations from 8am until 5pm on Saturday

Blighty Public School
Conargo Public School
Deniliquin Dental Clinic
Deniliquin High School
Deniliquin North Public School
Edward Public School

You only have to vote for five people out of the seventeen candidates and of those five give them a number between one and five in order of your preference.

If you desire to, you can number the boxes all the way down to 17 or stop at a random number like 8 or 13.

The fact there is a polling booth in Blighty is good news for Rovers players, staff and fans as they can pop in, vote and get to the ground and courts with plenty of time to spare.

Rams players, staff and fans may have to do their voting first up in order to get to their Semi Finals matches in time.

Things to consider

– Who has experience?
– Who is modest in what they do and will do?
– Who has great ideas for the future?
– Who really cares about Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo etc?
– Who would visit Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo etc regularly?
– Who is friendly and dedicated in what they do in life?
– Who would visit businesses regularly to see how they are?
– Who would consult the community regularly for ideas?
– Who would do the job for love of the ERC and not for photo ops?

With several of the candidates having pages, it is a good opportunity for voters to spend a bit of today writing to them with any concerns and seeing what their answers are in order for them to give a clear picture of who to vote for.

Final Thoughts

The ERC will be facing challenges, the merger between the Deniliquin Council and Conargo Shire was unwanted by many locals as it was forced by the NSW Government and it still isn’t a popular choice.

Will those outside Deniliquin accept Deniliquin virtually being the capital of the ERC and a council dominated by Deniliquin residents? Could Deniliquin residents accept people from Conargo etc setting up the future of the town?

Towns like Warragoon, Blighty, Conargo, Moonbria, Wanganella, Booroorban and more cannot be forgotten in this new era of the ERC, the area cannot be like cities and towns in State Politics where the cities get the bulk of cash and the country towns get the scraps.

Yes the ERC needs experienced hands but the ERC also needs the best of brains and hearts on the council and people who can make sure the whole ERC is well looked after.

We wish the candidates the best of luck and don’t forget to vote tomorrow readers.

September 4 2017

Here are the 17 candidates for the ERC Election to be held on Saturday September 9, Facebook page links are added to the names where possible so voters can read up on policies to make the best possible choice.

The list is broken up into localities as put in the candidates section of the NSW Electoral Commission list.

Norm Brennan’s page can also serve as a point to read the strong points of electing Mac Wallace, Nick Metcalfe and Peter McCrabb.

Please remember that voting is compulsory for all residents residing in the area of the ERC who are on the electoral roll, candidates discovered on the weekend that some locals believed the election was for ratepayers only but it is for all residents on the electoral roll.

Candidates wanting to make Facebook pages

If any candidates are reading this and haven’t created a Facebook page before and wish to do so have to do the following

1. Go on Facebook
2. click on the down arrow on the top right corner of the website (next to question mark)
3. Click on ‘Create Page’ and then follow the steps

Making a page will ensure personal security rather than bringing people directly to your personal profile.

ERC Election Candidates

Below is the list of the 17 candidates.

Deniliquin
Norm Brennan
Airlie Circuitt
Ashley Hall
Norm McAllister
Pete Robinson
Sue Taylor
Peter Connell
Andrew Howley
Jeff Shand
Pat Fogarty
James Sides
Peta Betts

Warragoon
Nick Metcalfe

Conargo
Rob Sobolewski

Wanganella
Mac Wallace

Booroorban
Peter McCrabb

Moonbria
Margaret Bull

September 1 2017

We are just over a week away from the Edward River Council election and things are starting to get busy.

Making the rounds of local social media is a post from Norm Brennan’s page that he has announced that four ex Conargo Shire Councillors in Mac Wallace, Nick Metcalfe, Peter McCrabb and himself have banded together to deliver a united message to voters.

The message is that Conargo Shire was debt free for 20 years, had high community satisfaction, all four men are sound financial managers, they shown the required balance between infrastructure and growth and more.

Meanwhile on ‘Peta Betts VOTE 1 Edward River Council‘ page, the page has been well updated with Peta’s achievements and she has told people what her agenda and platform are.

On the ‘Vote 1 Rob Sobolewski‘, Rob has talked up having a Dog Park for Deniliquin as well as mentioning well equipped Family & Sports Facilities, Recycling, Arts & Culture and the Murray Darling Basin Plan

Pete Robinson‘s page has a bunch of videos in which he states his views on many issues including removing the power lines from the War Memorial to Town Hall, working on Napier Street, unblock the views of the Edward River and more.

Andrew Howley‘s page doesn’t have much but he was on the previous Deniliquin Council that improved the financial balance by 3.3 million dollars in just three years.

Pat Fogarty has posted on DNS to state the following;

“With a few years a local government experience and a well developed business logistics, I’m confident I will deliver upon the communities expectations.
Top priorities for me are to explore diverse opportunities for both our urban and rural environments, join with the community to develop our Community Plans to enable a strategic pathway forward, review our assets and determine a priority listing for future development, ensure our fiscal position remains strong, investigate recycling options, and support the staff team with the final step of the merger process”.

Hopefully the above will help in some way towards making a decision on September 9 and we will continue to report on the latest as it comes to hand.

August 31 2017

The Rams kick off their finals campaigns this weekend in Moama and Mulwala whilst the Rovers will be aiming to make it to the Grand Final in matches played in Berrigan despite other sources saying Deniliquin.

Rovers Netball Finals

September 2 (in Berrigan)
A Grade vs Blighty
B Grade vs Strathmerton
C Reserve vs Mathoura
U/15’s vs Picola United

Rovers Football Finals

September 2 – All games played in Berrigan

Reserves vs Strathmerton
U/14’s vs Strathmerton
U/17’s vs Picola United

Good luck to all Rovers sides.

Rams Netball

Saturday September 2 – Played in Mulwala
C Reserve vs Mulwala

Sunday September 3 – All games played in Moama
A Grade vs Numurkah
B Grade vs Mulwala
U/17’s vs Cobram
U/13’s vs Finley

Rams Football

Saturday September 2
Under 17’s vs Congupna – played in Mulwala

Sunday September 3 – played in Moama
Under 14’s vs Tongala