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Speaker 1: Well, we are continuing our discussions with the mayoral candidates

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Speaker 1: for Darwin now, doing our best to get through as

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Speaker 1: many of the candidates as we can around the top

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Speaker 1: end over the coming days and over the previous week.

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Speaker 1: But continuing with Darwin this morning and joining us live

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Speaker 1: on the line is Andrew Arthur. Good morning to you, Andrew.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show. Andrew. You've got

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Speaker 1: six minutes and a series of questions. Are you ready

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Speaker 1: to get started? Let's do it all right, Andrew? Why

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Speaker 1: have you decided to put your hand up to be

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Speaker 1: the mayor?

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Speaker 2: Well, I believe Darwin's got incredible potential and I believe

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Speaker 2: I can help unlease this by working with our elected

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Speaker 2: members and providing providing us all with a safer affair

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Speaker 2: and smart Darwin.

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Speaker 1: Now, Andrew, in terms of qualifications and work experience, qualifications

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Speaker 1: of work experience do you have would you think make

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Speaker 1: you best placed for the job.

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Speaker 2: I've been in Darwen thirty five years. I've been running

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Speaker 2: a small business, so I've employed people. I know how

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Speaker 2: difficult it is to run a business in Darwen. We're

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Speaker 2: quite isolated. But also there's positives. There's a lot of positives.

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Speaker 2: We're extremely close to Asia where we're central to the

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Speaker 2: whole top end with products and services. So Darwin's in

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Speaker 2: a great position to grow and I've been a part

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Speaker 2: of that business SCEAM for thirty five years the previous council,

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Speaker 2: not this current council. I was in the previous council

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Speaker 2: as an elected member and we did a lot of

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Speaker 2: great things for the commune. I started up as a

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Speaker 2: founding member of the Karama Community Garden, which is in

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Speaker 2: Robin Leslie Park, a high risk zone, and we activated

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Speaker 2: that space. Every Saturday, Robin Leslie Park is activated. And

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Speaker 2: you know, pardon me. I've had a good education. I

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Speaker 2: was lucky enough to go to university under the old

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Speaker 2: GoF Whitlam rules where university was available to everybody, and

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Speaker 2: studied Bachelor of Science in ecology. So I'm embedded in

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Speaker 2: the Darwin community and I want to help contribute to

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Speaker 2: our future.

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Speaker 1: Andrew, what do you see as the most important issues

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Speaker 1: for Darwin and for the council.

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Speaker 2: All the councils. It's the third tier of government. It's

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Speaker 2: grassroots and I think this current council they haven't been

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Speaker 2: listening to the people. They haven't been able to get

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Speaker 2: out and talk to the people. They haven't consulted properly,

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Speaker 2: and I'd like to change that around. I think we

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Speaker 2: need more transparency in that grassroots level of government, and

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Speaker 2: we need more community input. I think back in two

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Speaker 2: thousand and nineteen, the council did a greening strategy and

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Speaker 2: it was a lot of work was done and we

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Speaker 2: discovered that Darwin has only got seventeen percent shade on

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Speaker 2: its footpaths and streets, and cities like Brisbane they have

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Speaker 2: sixty percent shade. And so I was able to ask

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Speaker 2: the question how many shade trees do we need to

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Speaker 2: plant to reach sixty percent shade and that answer come

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Speaker 2: back at two hundred and fifty thousand shade trees. It's

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Speaker 2: a massive job. It's a big job. But if you

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Speaker 2: look at places, you know when aale parama karama, you

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Speaker 2: know a lot of our streets and footpaths are devoided

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Speaker 2: of shade. So we really need to step up and

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Speaker 2: start planting shade trees.

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Speaker 1: Andrew, we've got about two minutes left. What are your

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Speaker 1: top three commitments to voters? It sounds like greening the

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Speaker 1: place is certainly one of them.

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Speaker 2: Yes, Well, I'd have to reconsider this twenty one story

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Speaker 2: civic centered development if there's a way we can renegotiate

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Speaker 2: that contract. They haven't started, they've fenced it off, but

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Speaker 2: the works haven't started. I'd really like to see a

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Speaker 2: renegotiation of that building down to maybe three stories, which

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Speaker 2: is more compatible with those heritage buildings like Browns Mart

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Speaker 2: and the Civic Park area. I'd like to start getting

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Speaker 2: more led lighting smart lighting into our walkways. Walkways are

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Speaker 2: a hot spot for anti social behavior, and Council is

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Speaker 2: constantly inundated with complaints of that nature and people wanting

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Speaker 2: to close the walkways. I mean, walkways are really important

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Speaker 2: for the connectivity of our northern suburbs, so to close

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Speaker 2: them all together it makes it difficult for pedestrians. But

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Speaker 2: if we get some smart lighting into those walkways, that

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Speaker 2: that should reduce that anti social behavior. Lighting in our ovals,

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Speaker 2: in our parks, and especially our playgrounds. Smart lighting in

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Speaker 2: our playgrounds. So if anyone comes in at night, sang

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Speaker 2: the lights are on.

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Speaker 1: Yes, Andrew, We've got about fifteen seconds left. Are you

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Speaker 1: a member of a political party or have you ever been?

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Speaker 2: No, never been a member, never.

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Speaker 1: Been a member. Now who in terms of preferences, can

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Speaker 1: you explain to us quickly who you're preferencing.

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Speaker 2: I'm saying a number in every box. We'll need to

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Speaker 2: do their own research. Number one for Andrew John Arthur

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Speaker 2: and all right.

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Speaker 1: And so you're letting other people decide who they'll preference.

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Speaker 1: You don't have a how to vote card or anything.

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Speaker 2: No, I don't. I've just got a little piece of

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Speaker 2: information on who I am in my policies.

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Speaker 1: Not fair enough. Well, Andrew Arthur, good to speak to

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Speaker 1: you this morning. Really appreciate your time. Thanks for being

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Speaker 1: part of our Meet the candidates.

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Speaker 2: Oh thank you, Katie and listeners, thanks so much