Owen Fitzgerald is a South Arm local and endorsed Greens candidate. His candidate material describes involvement in youth and student organisations, climate activism and the campaign to retain Rosny’s public green space during the proposed AFL High Performance Centre process. (The Australian Greens) His stated interests include public and social housing, public transport, green spaces and environmental management.
Candidate for Councillor
Written by Janice Overett
Owen Fitzgerald has provided detailed and thoughtful answers to my candidate questionnaire, giving voters a clear picture of the issues that matter to him and how he would approach decisions on Council.
A strong theme throughout Owen’s responses is community voice. He supports protecting Clarence’s green spaces, greater transparency and accountability in Council, public consultation on major decisions and keeping residents involved in development proposals that affect their communities.
He also addresses the everyday issues facing Clarence — parking, roads, hard waste, dog access, housing, public transport and protection of our coastline — and explains the reasoning behind his positions rather than simply giving yes or no answers.
Owen is open about being a member of the Tasmanian and Australian Greens and being endorsed by the Tasmanian Greens. He states that his votes and motions on Council would reflect community views, his own values and the knowledge he brings to the role.
As promised to all candidates, Owen’s questionnaire answers below are published exactly as he submitted them, without alteration.
NAME: Owen Fitzgerald
Statement on why I am running via this link: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1dMhdwTP4s/
Parking
I support sensible parking management that considers the needs of residents, local businesses, people with disabilities, visitors and commuters.
While I understand parking is a critical issue for many people, I would instead like to see the council invest and focus on public transport and other accessible transport methods to ease parking limitations rather than just create concrete spaces that only have on purpose.
I do not seek to remove any parking in mutli-stories or street parking but believe the issue of parking can be addressed through more community and environmental supportive initiatives. I will advocate for necessary parking when looking at development proposals but only after ensuring access via other methods is included in the proposal and is exhausted.
Yearly Hard Waste
I support bringing back hard rubbish. I want to note however, that in practice it would likely result in an increase of rates or cuts to other services, resources and/or staff provided by or employed by CCC. For this reason I would only continue after public consultation and consideration of the annual budget to attempt to find cost savings if a rate increase was widely refused/rejected by residents. This all being said I would like to see it implemented once again, but would focus heavily on community consultation around services and rates before making any commitment or vote.
I would also like to change peoples’ focuses from linear waste models to circular waste models. Clarence has a real opportunity to implement stronger community based recycling and upcycling programs, such as repair cafes, mens sheds workshops and opportunity shops, rather than end of life disposal if the item can be reused.
Green spaces
I am a strong supporter of public greens spaces for many reasons. Public Greens spaces have been linked to increase community health, recreational activities as well as a sense of community. Green spaces are so important also for climate mitigation- as they can provide shade for animals and people during extreme heat ( for example). This being said they can also pose risk through bushfires, I would like to see Council work closely with fire ecologist and fire behavior analyst as well as Tasmanian Aboriginal community, to make informed decisions about the impacts green space may have on communities and the natural space.
As Clarence grows, we need to make sure our green spaces aren’t simply treated as secondary areas for development, especially areas that take away from communities and recreational usage (such as the HPC) or directly threaten or remove animal or plant species listed as threatened or endangered. I support protecting our existing parks, bushland and natural areas while also improving their quality, accessibility and connectivity, this includes ensuring accessibility for all people and considered management of these spaces.
We should be creating greener neighbourhoods with more shade trees, walking paths, playgrounds, biodiversity corridors and places for people to gather, as mentioned before these spaces have important roles and create important values for communities when done well.
Growth across Clarence is exciting, but let’s make sure we are sensible about people’s access to green spaces and the benefits they can provide for people, the animals and the planet.
Road repairs
Council should be doing more to address roads and infrastructure that the community needs as roads are essential. I will advocate for greater action on roads where appropriate and based on the merit and finances of the Council.
I will also push any developments to consider community based infrastructure as part of the initial application process for development to ensure that any development does not retract from community infrastructure rather builds upon it and supports an ever growing community.
Dog parks
I support the creation of dog parks across Clarence and recognise the positive impacts they can have for owners and their dogs. However, dog parks are not a complete or effective exercise or social solution for all dogs. I believe it’s important that responsible access to currently accessible areas such as bushland is not restricted on the assumption that all dogs can simply use the handful of dog parks available.
Council should be encouraging responsible and caring dog ownership, and part of that is recognising that different dogs have different needs. Forcing dogs into dog parks alone does not achieve that. At the same time, it’s essential that any decisions made regarding dogs and these spaces also protect our native animals and vulnerable/ endangered plant communities.
Responsible dog access and environmental protection are not opposing goals – they must be and can be managed together. My goal is to create legislation that is thoughtful and balanced as this can help support responsible dog owners while safeguarding the natural ecosystems that make our area unique.
I believe work must be done to ensure that people have access to both dog parks and natural space/green areas on the grounds that our native animals, natural ecosystems and other people/ human communities are not a threat from such access for dogs. I will follow ecological and scientific guidance on access to natural areas and work with the community to ensure all sides are heard in any proposal or changes to natural spaces and dog parks.
DAP (for or against)
Strongly oppose. Simply put: I will oppose any system or legislative changes that removes community voice and/or makes it harder from community led democratic methods to inform local government and indeed any level of Government regarding developments, issues or community needs.
I note that this ultimately is a state Government decision but will advocate strongly to the state Government against these changes and I will continue to do this as I have already done so.
Housing & Development
Simply put, housing is a human right and should be treated as such. Housing should not be viewed as an out of reach goal for young people, renters, low income earners or families. I would seek to create changes to the planning scheme and approval process to help people develop and build granny flats and other small scale sustainable infrastructure on their properties.
I believe Council should be looking at existing council owned buildings and land to utilize them for social and affordable housing, not only is this a beneficial initiative for people struggling in the current housing and cost of living crisis, it is a means to generate revenue for Council. This can be achieved through long-term leasing models, ground rents, and structured development partnerships. This is the same utilizing air space above car parks (an idea already supported by the City Heart Plan).
Development and housing needs to occur across Clarence there is no argument against that; but we must be working to ensure the needs of the community, the environment and planet are met and considered. Development must be accompanied by infrastructure that not only is accessible but also up-to-date and built to last and maintain an ever growing area such as Lauderdale (for example).
Development should not be seen solely through an economic lens alone, instead it should encompass community benefits, the planet and all people.
Public Transport
I support more frequent and reliable bus services, better connections between suburbs and activity centres, safer and more accessible bus stops, and better integration between buses, walking and cycling and bike lanes.
Public transport should be a priority of Council especially in a cost of living crisis and should be an option for all people to access no matter ability, postcode or age.
I also believe that the Council must advocate to the State Government to increase services to reach more communities rather than a focus on the city centre and work to transition public transport assets to carbon neutral or low impact public transport methods and invest in methods of transport that do not require a bus or car.
Regarding bike-lanes you can see mine and other candidates positions via this link: https://bicyclenetwork.com.au/our…/tascouncilelections26/
Clarence’s Coastline
Clarence is home to many beaches, wetlands and more natural coastal areas used for recreation and natural beauty. It is one of the things that makes Clarence special, and it belongs to all of us.
Our coastline is currently under threat from climate change, sea level rise, changing weather patterns and development. The impacts of these changes such as erosion will impact not only natural systems and the environment but also homes, roads and other necessary infrastructure such as strom waters and pipes. For that reason the Council must take real action to combat the decline of our coastlines and events such as coastal erosion. Long-term planning for sea-level rise and coastal hazards needs to happen now, rather than waiting until infrastructure is damaged or communities are put at risk.
We also need to respect Aboriginal heritage and culture and protect the biodiversity of our coastal environments and native species. This can be achieved through consultation with the Aboriginal Community and experience in the fields of coastal ecology, coastal management and wetland management. I will also take a strong stand where I can within Council to advocate against proposed Salmon farming lease and pens across Clarence City. We know these pens can have serious marine impacts, but also impacts on communities through light and noise pollution.
I believe we have a responsibility to protect our coastline while at the same time making sure people can enjoy and access it. That means maintaining and improving walking and cycling paths for all people and abilities. Ensure clean and accessible swimming areas, support recreational fishers, all while support these natural systems, plants and animals.
I strongly believe that public waterfront land should remain public. Development should never result in the gradual privatisation of our coastline or restrict public access to places that belong to everyone and any development of these public spaces must not only be beneficial to all in the community but have expert advice and guidance.
Accountability & Transparency
I strongly believe that action must occur to ensure the transparency and accountability of the Council. People are disillusioned and angry when it comes to politics ( from my experiences anyway and personally views). A huge part of this is the lack of transparency, deals that happen behind closed doors, and lack of public consultation on proposals that directly affect the community. It’s time to return community voice to Local Government.
Where information can legally be made public, it should be.
Residents have a right to know what is being discussed and by whom, as these discussions directly affect them as residents and rate payers. Residents should feel empowered to approach the council and raise concerns, currently we are seeing the opposite. If elected as a Councilor I am committed to listening to and communicating with residents, engaging in safe and respectful debate, proper scrutiny, and to bring forward and seek community and expert views on proposals and motions where necessary.
The council chamber should not be a place where decisions are made behind closed doors. Council must be open to resident criticism as this is how we can ensure residents’ needs and concerns are addressed.
Kangaroo Bay development (supports a transparent community-focused outcome)
I support the current work to buy back Kangaroo Bay by CCC. If elected I will advocate for CCC to ensure development on the site that is beneficial for the community. This site has a real opportunity to become a vibrant community based hub.
I would advocate heavily for social and affordable housing to be considered by CCC in this site, as well as work to create incentives for small businesses that directly support Clarence, public green spaces and community based services and amenities. This being said I would strongly support any proposal(s) going to public consultation before a vote.
Party Alignment (if any) Liberal, Labor, Green, Other
Member of the Tasmanian and Australian Greens. Endorsed by The Tasmanian Greens for Clarence City Council.
Note: The Tasmanian Greens in no way do the Tasmanian Greens enforce how Councillors vote or what motions they may present, vote for against.
This public endorsement speaks more to my own transparency with voters as I believe voters have a right to know of any and all political affiliations past and present if they exist (many candidates do not support this, as many will fail to publicly and transparently state political affiliation).
My values align with that of the Greens – those of people and planet before self-invested interest and cooperations. While I am a member of the Tasmanian and Australian Greens any votes and motions I present in Council will be a reflection of the communities values and request, my own values, and knowledge that I can bring to the space.
Responsible person: Janice Overett 10 Jennings Crt, Nubeena 7185