Shoalhaven Action Campaign

Media release - 3 July

The Shoalhaven Action Campaign is delighted to announce it will be supporting John Fergusson as a Mayoral candidate for the Council elections on 13 September.

Graeme Gibson from SAC said Mr Fergusson is a strong candidate who has lived in Vincentia for five years since moving down from Sydney. “Mr Fergusson has extensive experience as a small business operator and currently works as a mortgage broker. He is an active member of the local business community and is particularly interested in small to medium enterprise growth which he believes to be the key to the Shoalhaven’s economic future. and issues affecting youth development and employment through which he has become involved in a local school based youth mentoring program.”

Mr Fergusson said “My interest in standing for mayor and Shoalhaven Council is to try and bring to the decision making process accountability, transparency and integrity to decisions that affect our city which is sadly lacking with Mayor Watson and his Shoalhaven Independent Group who currently control council.  The community has been generally ignored when it comes to contentious matters affecting development in particular. I can’t think of one decision in the past four years that has favoured the interest of the community over that of developer interests.

“Development is important, along with the establishment of industry and particularly small to medium business enterprises, to provide long term employment opportunities and create wealth for our community. However, to allow an overbuilt monstrosity on the waters edge but to oversee one of the worst unemployment rates in the country is a failure of policy and process which can be placed squarely at the foot of Mayor Watson and the Shoalhaven Independent Group.

“You cannot provide good governance and leadership for the whole community when you are fatally compromised by secret and, undisclosed prior to the election, developer donations, as is the case with the Shoalhaven Independents Group.”

Mr Fergusson also said he will be standing for election as a Councillor in ward two.