Lismore mayor elect Steve Krieg details Big Rob preference deal

“There are challenges that I am looking forward to dealing with”. Lismore’s mayor elect Steve Krieg has laid out his intentions and his preference deal with candidate Big Rob.

Mayor elect Steve Krieg and his wife Julianne run La Baracca in Lismore.

Lismore’s new council met casually for the first time on Thursday to acquaint themselves with the many new faces that will shape the shire’s future for the next three years.

Newly elected mayor Steve Krieg, whose ticket holds six of the council’s 11 seats, said although his team held a majority, it was made up of independent councillors.

“I expect people to vote with what they think is right, regardless whether they get on with me or they’re a different group, I want everyone to vote for what they believe is right,” he said.

He said there would not be any repercussions should any member from his group vote differently to him.

Mr Krieg said there were agitators within the shire and he would stand behind his councillors 100 per cent.

“There are challenges that I am looking forward to dealing with.”

Preferencing allocations

Mr Krieg said there were people within the community who wondered why his team had preferenced successful candidate Big Rob.

“We had a few meetings and there were a lot of eyebrows raised when we preferenced him,” Mr Krieg said.

“Basically from the very moment that we launched our ticket with 14 people, there were 95 per cent of the population were doubters, saying we’d never get the majority, what you’re doing has never been done before, you’ll be lucky to get yourself and three people on council, you’re going to be working in a minority, all this sort of stuff.”

He said his team was “quietly confident” their strategy would pay off.

“We felt that there was always the movement among the community for a change: a positive and proactive change, but we knew that the last two seats based on history would come down to preference allocation,” he said.

Mr Krieg said, based on advice gleaned from experienced politicians, he believed other parties would preference one another heavily.

“We thought that if there was going to be any sort of preference swing our way then the option was to preference the other independent.

“I met with Patrick Healey and he wasn’t interested in preferencing anyone.

“Big Rob was the only one interested in doing a preference allocation and that’s why it landed how it landed.”

Big Rob has been elected as a Lismore City councillor.

Mr Krieg said Mr Rob had two personas: his work ethic and his public profile.

“I judge people from how I meet them and how they treat me,” he said.

Mr Rob said what he did on social media was very different to how he was in person.

“Believe it or not I am a really private guy,” Mr Rob said.

He said he used the political strategy of agitation to “stir the pot” to bring awareness of issues that affected the broader community, such as the special rate variation.

“Just because someone upsets people or annoys them doesn’t make it illegal,” Mr Rob said.

“Agitating helps you see what the community is feeling or wanting.”

Mr Krieg said Mr Rob had been nothing but respectful and courteous towards himself and his family and was looking forward to utilising Mr Rob’s knowledge and perseverance on matters.

Mr Rob admitted he was persistent.

“I’ve been engaged heavily behind the scenes for over 10 years,” Mr Rob said.

“I wear my heart on my sleeve and believe heavily in social justice, and equitable and fair treatment for everyone.”

Mr Krieg said he saw Mr Rob as an asset for Lismore.

“I’ll treat him as such until he gives me a reason not to,” Mr Krieg said.

The sentiment was reciprocated with Mr Rob commenting that he thought Lismore’s new mayor would be good for the city.

“I think Krieg is going to very good for Lismore,” Mr Rob said.

“He is coming across a very strong team player and I am looking forward to working with him.

“I hope we can all work together even though we have very different political views.”

Issues on the table

Mr Krieg said he was in favour of a water strategy that supported the region, not just Lismore.

“The CSIRO have been commissioned to do an independent study and we will support whatever their findings are,” he said.

“Casino are desperate for the Dunoon dam because they don’t have an adequate water supply at the moment.

He said coastal towns were also seeking a more reliable water source.

“Byron and Ballina are in just as dire need so things like the Dunoon dam, although it’s a local issue, really has to be looked at as a region.”

Mr Krieg said that because Rous County Council was a regional council it was important to look beyond one’s back yard and look at your neighbourhood too.

“We will support the best options for the region,” he said.

Other key strategies that the new council will be focusing on include transport and to making Lismore a hub where people can easily travel to surrounding towns and attractions.

The new council

Mr Krieg brought on board Trevan Auto Group managing director Andrew Bing, Enova Community Energy founding director Peter Colby, R Gordon & Son Property Agents property agent Andrew Gordon, Halls Bus Company owner and operator Jerilee Hall and former Coca-Cola Amatil safety and wellbeing compliance officer, Electra Jensen.

Experienced councillors Elly Bird, Adam Guise, Darlene Cook and Mayor Vanessa Ekins were re-elected along with independent candidate Big Rob.

Ms Ekins said she was looking forward to the challenge of the next three years as she passed the mayoral baton on.

“We’ve worked very hard on strategies like affordable housing where we have council land that we want to build on,” she said.

She said the council had built long-term strategies concerning flood preparedness, the handover of land to the Widjabul Wia-bal people, waste management, and financial sustainability.

“We are in consultation with the community regarding flood-based solutions and consultation on flood preparedness.”

“Council is doing a lot about waste management, as we move into the circular economy we are planning outcomes like moving the revolve shop into the CBD.”

Many of the council’s strategies for moving forward will be discussed during the induction of the new councillors in January with the first official Lismore council meeting scheduled for January 11 where the deputy mayor will be appointed.

“I’d like to remind people we are your representatives and we welcome our community to reach out to us and engage in issues that affect your community,” Ms Ekins said.