MILLICENT business operator Nicole Looby-McRostie has a place on Wattle Range Council as one of her aims for the year.
The four-yearly council elections occur in October and she is the first candidate to confirm her intention to stand for office.
Mayor Peter Gandolfi is definitely standing down from office while a number of other councillors have signalled they will stand again subject to such conditions as satisfactory health.
Nicole is telling customers of her Junction Deli that she also plans to leave her George Street business by mid-year and return to her past roles as a carer and volunteer at Millicent’s Salvation Army thrift shop.
If successful in her bid for local government, Nicole would bring a younger outlook to this sphere.
The average age of the 11 current ward councillors is 66 while Nicole is only 53.
“My customers are telling me to go for it.”
Originally from Victoria, Nicole has lived in Millicent since the age of 15.
She has raised three sons and spent 15 years working at the Kimberly-Clark Australia Millicent Mill.
For almost six years she has run the Junction Deli in two different locations and it brings into contact with people across the age and social spectrum.
Nicole is on duty from 7am to 9pm seven days a week.
“I see Liberal Party candidate Nick McBride and his wife Katherine in the shop every two or three weeks,” Nicole said.
Her motivation for standing for council is due to many factors.
“Being where I am in the shop, I talk to a lot of people who have concerns about council.
“There are things they do and things they do not do.
“There is a lady who lives at Rocky Camp who said the council was going to seal the road and that was three years ago.
“There is the example of the cancellation of the pre-Christmas street party in George Street.
“Wattle Range Council should have attempted to stand up and do something.
“There are large numbers of family members who come down to Millicent for Christmas and council should have done something.
“The street party is a good thing for all businesses.”
Nicole said there are also matters relating to the Beachport boat ramp.
There is one area of council expenditure which annoys the aspiring candidate.
“It is the after-hours access to council vehicles by council employees.
“I see them with their wives driving up the street to pick up pizzas.
“We are paying for this.
“If we have a lot of debt, why do not we look at ways of cutting back?”
According to Nicole, council has a lot of facilities which could be used.
“Why not have a market day or boot sale at the saleyards?
“It would be good to attract some of these events to Millicent like the street drags.
“There is plenty for the older people and younger people to do but nothing for the middle-aged group
“Not everyone is interested in photographs, paintings and craft.”
It is Nicole’s point of view that boredom causes young people to turn to drugs.
“We have to do something for the kids.
“We want to have attractions that will bring people from other towns into Millicent.
“There is no big industry out there which will employ 500-600 people.
“We have to have things for the tourists and we have to get things moving.
“Millicent cannot be left back in the 1970s.
“We have to create a town which is vibrant again”.
Nicole said she will be accessible to the public in the second half of the year after she leaves the Junction Deli and moves back to volunteering in the Salvation Army shop in Millicent.
“If they want to, they can come and talk to me”.
