WINEMAKER, farmer and Greens endorsed candidate Jackson Snep is vying for the South Ward seat in the 2020 Ballarat council elections.<\/p>\n
Growing up on his family\u2019s farm and eventually managing Welshmans Reef Vineyard with his father, Mr Snep has cultivated a strong connection to the land and his regional community.<\/p>\n
Because of this, he said he\u2019s always had an interest in being involved within the community, in politics and in making a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had been wondering for a while about what I could be doing for my community and over the summer with the bushfires, I felt like I had to do something,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than worrying about it and whinging about the government, I figured there\u2019s no better time than now to get involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a point where you need to step up and try and make a difference yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aside from his professional winemaking work, Mr Snep also manages Big Hearted Wines, a social enterprise which supports grape growers in the central Victoria region.<\/p>\n
Through this work, he said he has experienced the effects of climate change first-hand on food production, businesses, families and our environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative started because we were trying to help local growers in need, that\u2019s when we first saw the issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis kind of work is all about helping your neighbours and looking out for those in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy big focus though is looking out for climate issues because there are some small things council can do here like getting our energy from renewable sources and promoting clean manufacturing and electric vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although climate action and promoting green industries are at the forefront of his campaign, it\u2019s not the only South Ward issue he is focused on solving.<\/p>\n
With a bachelor of business and a background in corporate audit and compliance under his belt, Mr Snep said he seeks to solve South Ward\u2019s economic issues by encouraging small business and local economies from within the council.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do have another focus on governments and integrity of council as there\u2019s been a few challenges around that lately, so with my background I hope I can bring a bit of scrutiny to our council offices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I was elected I would also hope to try and push more local businesses and local industries so we wouldn\u2019t be as dependant on outside businesses to promote a stronger economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause a stronger economy would result in more jobs and better qualified jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a young candidate himself, he said he hopes that he can be a voice for his demographic and bring a progressive perspective to the future council.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing in touch with the younger demographic and acknowledging the issues that affect them like the housing market and the casualization of work would help inform my public work,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBallarat is in need of fresh faces and new perspectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that South Ward could do with a bit of a shakeup so I hope I can bring a bit of diversity in terms of age and political perspective to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WINEMAKER, farmer and Greens endorsed candidate Jackson Snep is vying for the South Ward seat in the 2020 Ballarat council elections. Growing up on his family\u2019s farm and eventually managing Welshmans Reef Vineyard with his father, Mr Snep has cultivated a strong connection to the land and his regional community. Because of this, he said […]<\/p>\n