Ingramfornorthward

19/10/2020

Allowing people to pre-pay a coffee for someone that has lost their job due to Covid could be great for Toorak Road and Chapel Street Cafes as we recover

Ian SharpRuth SpeedyChrissie MausMatt LaniganImp Jewellery

16/10/2020

The voice of the the people!

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16/10/2020

Who is ?

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-art-of-flattery-how-a-property-developer-courted-a-council-20200918-p55wvk.html

A portrait of a veteran councillor sits at the heart of a bitter political dispute raging in Melbourne's inner eastern suburbs.

14/10/2020

Part of my response to an email from a resident complaining about the decline of Chapel Street, Toorak Road, and our shopping areas:

I want the Council to focus more on making improvements to streets and building facades to improve the aesthetics, which will encourage more people to come to the area, spend time and money. One of the challenges is getting Council to genuinely listen to stakeholders in the community, I have been very impressed with Toorak Village Traders Association, South Yarra Traders Association, and Chapel Street Precinct Group as they really understand better than anyone else what the problems are in these areas and what the solutions need to be. They each have great, practical ideas for how to bring life and energy back. Council should be set up to listen, understand, and execute those ideas, not to override the ideas of the community to implement their own grand plans!

13/10/2020

When I became a citizen at the beginning of this year, I became a member of the Liberal Party because I hold conservative values however I have noticed there are many people that are a member of the Liberal Party that don't hold those values. I believe you can tell someone's values from the way they act, not from what they say. You can look at Liberal Party members on Stonnington Council who behave contrary to those values. Eg Councilor Koce is a part of a collusive, majority gang of 5 Councillors that consistently ignore the community they are there to serve. He has voted:
- to declare a climate emergency
- to send hundreds of thousands of dollars overseas in foreign aid
- against the public broadcasting of Council meetings
- to support same-sex marriage (which is not a Council issue)
- to send money to St Kilda Pride festival
- for hugely wasteful spending on Prahran Town Hall and Prahran Square.
I have no interest in being a career politician, I genuinely want to be on the Council for 4 years to fix these problems and then go back to focusing on my own life and business, which I enjoy enormously. Although I am a member of the Liberal Party, I am not endorsed or funded. This is an entirely independent exercise that has nothing to do with the Liberal Party

11/10/2020

I moved to Australia from the UK because it is another western democracy, with all the benefits that offers for a good quality of life however since becoming a citizen at the beginning of this year and getting involved with local issues in Stonnington I have been shocked at how unlike a western democracy it really is. Watching Council meetings, I was appalled to see a majority gang of 5 Councillors voting in a pack and patently ignoring any community feedback, even when it was from a resounding majority. It became apparent that this was corruption and we've now seen media coverage of Councillors receiving gifts from developers. This is the sort of thing you would expect in a corrupt authoritarian regime not in a developed western country therefore I have nominated to stand in these elections. I really believe in democracy; it is the best thing that has ever happened to the world and to see it being so abused at a local level has angered me to act. I hope others will demand more from our system and that we can realise a truer form of democracy and civilisation as a result.

10/10/2020

My response to a resident asking me about my specific plans if I am elected:

The first thing I want to do is reinstate sub-committees so that Councillors, rather than Council staff members, can take on projects to lead community engagement and find solutions to problems like: the decline of Chapel Street and Toorak Road, shopping areas, inappropriate development, wasteful spending, traffic issues, parking and trams, sports clubs, social activities etc.. Sub-committees were abolished by the gang of 5 because they took power away from them but they are essential so that Councillors can be more involved. I will set up a regular cadence for each sub-committee to meet with community stakeholders and then report back to general Council periodically. In this way Council will be forced to listen and respond to the community much more effectively.

I want to review the activities of Council staff members under the CEO to make sure they are fully accountable to the Council and not just doing their own thing. I want to cut costs and inefficiencies while still delivering value, this will require some powerful scrutiny and potentially some reallocation of resources. Councillors on sub committees will take responsibility for different teams within the executive so that there is much better accountability and we don't have any more run away bureaucracy.

Let me know if you have any questions

04/10/2020

If I am elected what will I deliver or change?

03/10/2020

My email response to a resident who said, it seems like I don't know anything about issues in Stonnington Council and that I seem like just another career politician wannabe:

Thanks for your email. I have actually researched and been involved with the issues in Stonnington deeply. You can find my budget submission on the Stonnington website where I have analysed the budget and suggest where cost savings and efficiencies can be found. You can find my budget submission at 47 mins 50 secs on this recording: http://webcast.stonnington.vic.gov.au/archive/video20-0817.php

I have also been in correspondence with many groups and traders associations about the problems and solutions in the area. I have no interest in being a career politician, in fact, I think that is what is wrong with this country. This is the greatest country on earth, built on a fantastic framework but it was never the intention for politicians to become career minded; they should have established a life and a career for themselves independently and seek to enter government to give back and make a difference over a limited period of time to solve a specific problem based on their unique experience and skills. I will never become a career politician, I see this as an opportunity to correct problems in Council and in our community. It is not for my own career progression, which is different from the majority of other candidates and current Councillors that are standing.

I'd be keen to talk further if you wanted to give me a ring

29/09/2020

My response to The Malvern Theatre Company about how I would support them moving forward:

Thanks so much for reaching out. I think that it is sad to see the decline in the Arts at a national and global level as well as at a local level like with The Malvern Theatre Company. I used to be an actor and studied English Literature so performing arts is close to my heart. I believe the classics like Shakespeare and musicals like Les Misérables hold so much culture and education for people of all ages that it is a detriment to our society that they are not given a more prominent position. Restoration of the Arts is a way to better society and improved lives, and it could really help during recovery from Covid. I see an important place for the Malvern Theatre Company in the life of Stonnington moving forward.

Like so many challenges in our community; from the decline of Chapel Street, Toorak Road and our shopping areas, to inappropriate development and basic rules around roads and parking, this Council has been ignoring the community stakeholders who know best. They assume to understand the problems and solutions better than those that live and work in these key areas. There is a majority gang of 5, on Council, who pre-determine how they are going to vote regardless of community feedback because it suits them. They do favours for favours and pursue their own agendas. It is terrible to see our democracy being so trampled on!

I want to bring a change to Council so that we engage honestly and regularly with community stakeholders like the Malvern Theatre Company, traders’ associations and community groups. They understand the problems they are facing, and the solutions far better than any Councillor could. It is Council’s job to work with these groups to understand the challenges and the community’s solutions so that they can support those solutions becoming a reality. Not the other way around where Council is directive and tells the community what they are going to do.

I am a fresh face with new ideas, energy and skill to get this done. With my experience in global business and background in the performing arts we can make this a reality and start in a new direction where The Malvern Theatre Company is given the focus and attention it deserves.

I’d be keen to talk further if you wanted to give me a ring on 0475 431 422

29/09/2020

My response to an email from a community member concerned about the redevelopment of Prahran Pool:

I’m horrified to hear your story but sadly not surprised, this Council does not take community consultation seriously and often ignores the feedback when it is conducted. There is a collusive gang, a majority of 5, on Council who pre-determine how they are going to vote in-line with what benefits them. They do favours for favours and it’s all to do with self-aggrandisement. This means they will often have decided on what developments to do before even having consulted with the community - it makes a farce of community engagement, which is clearly what you are seeing here.

I intend to change this, I am not a career politician or a bureaucrat, I want the community to genuinely be in the driving seat. Why would a Councillor know the best solutions for this community? They often don’t even live in the area or take part in community activities. It is the height of arrogance for them to think they can ignore the community and push through their own ideas. Another example is how they ignore traders on Chapel Street and Toorak Road, they think they understand the problems and solutions for the shopping precinct better than the locals who live and work there. What is needed is a Council that genuinely wants to listen and implement the solutions from the community, because of course the community knows best. It’s time we had Councillors who are genuinely serving the people, not those that think the community is there to serve them!

I don’t doubt that if this Council goes ahead with this plan to redevelop Prahran Pool the huge budget of $40M would blow out enormously. Just look at Prahran Square, which was managed so badly that it went $30M over budget! This gross spending of other people’s money cannot be justified, especially when it is conducted so inefficiently and there is no real collaboration with the community. Some on Council, like Matthew Koce, seem to think of gross spending by Council necessary to stimulate the local economy, unfortunately this is just a demonstration of his lack of understanding of 'Keynesian' economics and monetary theory. Of course, rates should be reduced in the future, I think rates should be reduced year on year while still delivering excellent services that the community wants and needs.

My solution to this would be to put the Prahran Pool redevelopment plans on hold until a new Council can properly conduct community consultation and demonstrate that they are genuinely acting on what the community wants.

I’d be keen to discuss further if you want to call me on 0475 431 422

20/09/2020

Thanks for liking this page - its time for a change on Stonnington, North Ward Council!

19/09/2020

I am proudly endorsed by The Stonnington Ratepayers Association - the voice of the people!

19/09/2020

I am Ingram Spencer. My young family and I love living in South Yarra and I am running for Council because I want to help transform it into the best it can be. I work for a large global business in which I continuously seek feedback from customers to improve the delivery, quality, and cost of services we provide - to give customers what they want, not what I want. Residents are the Council’s customers; however recent Council decisions have been out of touch with what North Ward residents and traders want.

19/09/2020

Answering this one question will help drive my campaign

Click the image to voice your opinion!

19/09/2020

Hey, its time for a change in Stonnington Council!


Authorised by I Spencer, 229 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne Vic 3141

15/09/2020

What a wonderful Christmas, it seems so long ago...