Written by Janice Overett

Zac Morrisby is a young tradesperson from Mornington. He has described himself as an electrician working across social housing in southern Tasmania and has said one reason for standing is the under-representation of younger people in government. (Pulse Tasmania)

Candidate for Councillor

When I first started looking at the candidates for Clarence Council, I was unsure about Zac Morrisby. I wanted to know more about him, what he actually stood for, and whether he would simply follow others or be prepared to form his own opinions.

Zac has now taken the time to answer my candidate questions in some detail, and after reading his responses, I am going to give him a YES. Zac is young and inexperienced in local government. There is no point pretending otherwise.
But sometimes inexperience can also mean someone comes without years of council
baggage, old alliances and entrenched ways of doing things.

Clarence needs some fresh faces. We cannot keep electing the same people, getting the same behaviour and then wondering why nothing changes.

WHAT ZAC SAYS HE STANDS FOR

Parking
Parking is one of Zac’s priorities, particularly around Bellerive, Kangaroo Bay and Rosny.
He does not support simply removing parking spaces and expecting public transport to solve the problem. He believes better public transport should complement practical parking solutions, with adequate accessible disability parking also provided.
I agree.

Yearly Hard Waste
Zac strongly supports restoring a practical yearly hard waste service.
He considers services such as hard waste collection part of Council’s basic responsibilities and believes any system should be affordable, efficient and easy for residents to use. Another tick.

Green Spaces
Zac says Clarence’s parks, reserves, beaches and open spaces are an important part of
what makes our city such a good place to live. He supports protecting and improving important green spaces while recognising that Clarence also needs housing and sensible development. Importantly, he believes the two can coexist with good planning.

After everything we went through with the Rosny parks and the High Performance Centre debate, protection of our public open space remains extremely important to me.

Roads and Basic Infrastructure
Zac believes roads, footpaths and basic infrastructure should be core Council business.

He specifically mentions Pass Road as an example where residents have raised ongoing concerns and says deteriorating roads should be properly repaired before problems become much more expensive. That sounds like common sense, something councils sometimes seem to lose sight of.

Dog Parks
He supports properly planned and maintained dog parks and off-lead areas where there is genuine community demand, including appropriate fencing, water and bins.

Development Assessment Panels
Zac is against DAPs in their current proposed form.
While he supports making the planning system more efficient, he believes local communities and their elected representatives must retain a meaningful role in major planning decisions. He also makes the very important point that independent expertise should not come at the expense of local accountability and community input.
I strongly agree.

Housing and Development
Zac supports additional housing and greater density where appropriate, but he does not believe development should simply be approved without considering the consequences. He says development must be supported by roads, parking, public transport, services and community infrastructure.
In other words, plan first, don’t approve everything and try to fix the problems
afterwards.

Public Transport
Zac supports expanding ferry services, improving bus connections and developing effective park-and-ride options. He recognises that better public transport can reduce congestion, but only if the service is convenient and reliable enough for people to actually use it.

Clarence’s Coastline
Zac regards our coastline as one of Clarence’s greatest assets.
He supports investment in beach access, walking infrastructure, water quality, erosion
management and facilities while ensuring the coastline remains accessible to the
community.

Accountability and Transparency
This answer particularly stood out to me. Zac says residents deserve to know:

• where their rates are being spent;
• why major decisions are being made; and
• what Council is actually delivering.

He wants greater transparency around spending, stronger community engagement and councillors who are prepared to explain — and stand behind — their decisions.
After the last term of Clarence Council, accountability, transparency and behaviour
inside the chamber will be enormously important to me when deciding who deserves
a vote.

Kangaroo Bay
Zac wants Kangaroo Bay developed, but says any development must deliver a genuine
benefit to the Clarence community. He wants parking, traffic, public access, amenity and the waterfront properly considered. Most importantly, he says the process must be transparent and the community must have a genuine opportunity to be heard.
I think we will all be watching this issue very closely.

Political Alignment
Zac describes himself as Independent.
He says he is not running to represent a political party or ideology and will assess issues on their merits. He also says he is prepared to work constructively with people from across the political spectrum when that produces a better outcome for Clarence.

SUMMARY
Zac Morrisby does not have years of council experience behind him.
That is not automatically a negative.
Everyone elected to Council had to start somewhere.
What matters is whether a new councillor is willing to listen, learn, ask questions, challenge decisions when necessary and remember that they were elected to represent the community, not become part of the Council establishment.
I have said throughout this election that I want fresh people and fresh thinking on
Clarence Council.

We have seen what happens when the same personalities and old divisions dominate the chamber. Zac’s answers show a practical approach to basic services, planning, public open space, development and accountability.
He will have a lot to learn. But based on what I have seen and the answers he has provided, I think he is worth giving a chance.
ZAC MORRISBY – YES FROM ME
As always, this is my personal assessment.

Don’t vote for a face on a poster.
THINK about who you want representing Clarence for the next four years.
Research every candidate. Look at their history. Look at their votes. Look beyond the
glossy brochures. Then decide who you trust to represent you.

My assessment: This candidate profile contains factual information drawn from publicly available material, council records and public statements, together with my own opinions and assessment of the candidate’s record and suitability for Clarence City Council. Readers are encouraged to consider the information, do their own research and make their own decisions.

Responsible person: Janice Overett – 10 Jennings Crt, Nubeena 7185