Long-time Gundaroo resident, Iain Fyfe, is on the Greens ticket this local election to get involved and make a difference.
Iain enjoys getting to know people, their situations and what they want out of life. Seeing the issues that crop up on the daily basis for residents, motivated him to stand for council and have his voice heard.
“I want to help residents get more say in what happens, better consultation,” he said.
If elected he also plans to get involved in the water supply issue currently facing the region and said, “that’s got to be improved”.
“Water is such a key thing, and it will be into the future,” Iain said. “I want to help prepare the Shire for the challenges with population development coming up.”
“We’re about 17,000 people now and that’s going to increase quite dramatically by predictions in the next 20 years or so,” he said. “I just want to make sure there’s plenty of inclusion and solidarity in the community.”
Iain said we need to pay more attention to declining ecosystems in the area and he wants to ensure road maintenance is kept up to date.
He’s aiming for plenty of transparency around roads and other policies because it can cause a lot of disquiet in the community.
Iain also plans to address COVID-19 and climate change impacts, and waste management issues.
With a background in information technology (IT), the father of five knew the industry would have a huge impact and worked in both the private and public sector during his career.
Although now technically retired, Iain is busy spending time with his family, gardening, cooking and getting involved in the community.
Iain has been an RFS volunteer with the Gundaroo Fire Brigade for nearly a decade and previously, he worked with Landcare, a community-driven natural resource management organisation before the Yass branch shut down.
He is now involved with CAN (Climate Action Now) Sign. The group came together after the 2019/2020 fires when a fellow volunteer firefighter’s house burnt down on the South Coast. CAN Sign is a not-for-profit that produces and sells climate action signs for people to display.
“We need to be sustainable about what we do at the same time as making sure we’re comfortable and we’re keeping things safe,” he said.
By Brianna O’Rourke