Bending over backwards for South seat

YOGA studio operator and independent candidate Tracey Hargreaves has decided this year is the year to run for a South Ward seat.

While preparing for her first-time candidacy, Ms Hargreaves said while she had long been considering running for local government, it wasn’t until recently that she decided to take the leap.

“I had shifts happening internally and with the business and I wanted to step up and have a go to make an impact in a greater sense beyond the business in Ballarat,” she said.

“2020 has been such a strange and unpredictable year and coming out of COVID, it’s important that we are looking at what do people need to recover.”

Throughout her work within the CBD at her studio Absolute Yoga, she said has become well versed in what it takes to run a business in the Ballarat.

“Being in a small business, I’ve had to step up and change a lot of things in order for the business to survive and thrive through this,” Ms Hargreaves said.

“I know the barriers that are there and the barriers in running businesses, with parking and expensive rates and I have a good experience with knowing what’s going on in central Ballarat.”

Aside from her professional work, Ms Hargreaves also regularly uses her online platform to rally the community and raise her voice about issues that are of concern to Ballarat residents.

Specifically, she said she was involved with bringing issues with CBD parking to the attention of the City of Ballarat council.

“I strategically got the community involved to push back the newly instated restrictions in the Little Bridge Street carpark,” she said.

“I pushed back with Facebook posts and got a lot of people behind it and it got so loud that it couldn’t be ignored and shortly after, the City of Ballarat changed it back.

“That encouraged me to see that you can actually make a change and rally people to push back when things aren’t right.”

For the future of the city, Ms Hargreaves said her top priority will be supporting people, not just in South Ward but across the board to get back on their feet.

“Before we can talk about roads, rubbish and trees which are important, we must zero in on right now which is such an unprecedented time for people,” she said.

“A lot of people may have had their income impacted and lost their jobs, so now is a really good time to look at ways to support people’s mental health.

“I’m very outspoken and down to earth and if elected, I will have no greater agenda than what is good for the people who live here and pay the rates here.”