A resident of Wagga for nearly all of his 66 years, Steve Taylor says it was his passion for the city's future that made him decide to run for Wagga City Council in the upcoming election.
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Mr Taylor is one of five candidates on the independent "Getting It Done" ticket, led by Agrifutures manager Georgie Davies.
In the past he worked as a chartered accountant for around 26 years and was general manager of an exporting business in Bomen before this. Now, the dad of three has found himself working as a grain handler at Grong Grong - something he has never done before.
"There was a big call for extra people to give a hand for harvest this year, so I thought ... why not," he said.
Along with this, Mr Taylor regularly puts his hand up for volunteer work with groups such as BlazeAid in Adelong following the 2019-20 bushfires, Ronald McDonald House, and tourism efforts in Vanuatu.
"I've spent 62 years in Wagga but i've had the privilege of traveling all around the world and living in various countries for short periods of time, and I think country NSW ... and places like Wagga are actual gems of places to live," he said.
"I would like to see Wagga continue to be ... robustly sustainable as a great place to live."
Mr Taylor believes a large part of this is smart management of Lake Albert to make sure it is a self-sustainable asset for Wagga residents and visitors alike.
"Being such a close resident, seeing things like the ducks and the pelicans and the black swans and all the different classes of users and the events held around here sometimes ... it's such a great asset for Wagga [so] we need to continue to make sure that this pipeline project that council's got underway gets pushed right through to completion," he said.
"Even though the lake's full and may be full for another three or four years, who knows what [will happen] after that, but we just need to make sure that we get that water supply there all the time because it enhances Wagga."
I've never asked anyone over my whole life to do a job that I wouldn't or hadn't done myself.
- Steve Taylor
If elected, Mr Taylor said he would push to get the sediment dug up out of the lake, making the lake deeper and "in turn cool the lake down", making it harder for algae to grow and allowing for more water to evaporate in drier times.
He said amenities around the lake are just as important as the lake itself.
As an avid bike rider he regularly travels around the lake, and on Wagga's roads, seeing "first-hand the difference in the state of roads here compared to elsewhere".
Mr Taylor also says his background in small business and accounting would be an asset to council.
"Being a numbers person I'm fairly critical as to whether things stack up financially, but I also have a fairly compassionate heart so I know that decisions that financially might look a bit out of kilter, if there's an emotional or a compassionate side that needs to be considered as well then I'm more than capable of doing that," he said.
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