2008 Hustings questions - St Mary

I have noticed the JEP reporting of the questions and answers at the husting is rather incomplete. I still have the notes I wrote for many of them so I'll try give a flavour of what I replied on some that either were not reported in the JEP, or gave a truncated version that missed something.

When will will we have mains drains connection.

Like clean air, adequate housing and nourishing food, we are talking here about the basics of living. It is particularly important in a very densely populated island that we handle our sewage and surface water properly. The problems are going to get worse. Climate change predictions for Jersey suggest we will have 40% more winter rain, and that is likely to come in shorter periods of heavier storms and downpours. We have already had flooding from overflowing public drain in our house this year, and I have real concerns that the whole system is not up to dealing with the future rainfall patterns.

2008 Hustings questions - St Peter

I have noticed the JEP reporting of the questions and answers at the husting is rather incomplete. I still have the notes I wrote for many of them so I'll try give a flavour of what I replied on some that either were not reported in the JEP, or gave a truncated version that missed something.

On student support and means testing of parents.

I spent a year as the chair of Nottingahm Area Students council campaigning against the introduction of student loans and for full grants. At 18 you can be married, you could be in the army being shot at in Iraq or Afghanistan, you are an independent person. You should be able to to got to university on your own merits and strengths, not whether you parents feel like funding you, or a sibling is already at university, or a rich aunt will sub you, or some commercial lender thinks you are a good bet.

On the Bailiffs liberation day speech.

His speech was crass, inept and insulting to victims and survivors. The Bailiff clearly likes to be political. He wants £15 million of our tax payers money to fund an endowment to bring his selection of pictures over every year- that's politics too. He should resign, come on the hustings, and face the public like the rest of the candidates.

Recycling

We all know the best strategy: reduce, reuse, recylce in that order. Now Jersey's target for recycling is 36% - a pitifully low number. So low in fact that many UK councils are already at that level and are aiming to do better. North Flanders in Belgium has a 71% recycling rate.

The top recycling councils are those that have kerbside collection, and it would work here - Havre des Pas showed that. So why are we dithering? Why can't we have a world leading reuse and recycling set up to go along side our 'iconic' buildings , and our 'world class' developments? Its just not impressive is it, and that what this current States establishment are all about - impression.

There is a very important reason why the target recycling rate is critical, and could save us all a phenomonal amount of money and illness. The new incinerator is sized on the assumption we just won't do that much recycling, and of course to cope with the planned deliberate population growth. Take away either of those , and the new incinerator plans fall to bits. In fact if we recycled at 50% and sent some of the reuseable and recyclable materials elsewhere, the new incinerator would not work properly.

You can get more of my views and information about the incinerator at
http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/31404.html
http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/30251.html
http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/29918.html
http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/29595.html

Housing

Housing is of course a critical element of living. Good quality housing, built to proper modern building regulations and well insulated would go a long way to reducing fuel consumption and running costs and improving health. Its a definite all ways round win situation. The majority of the price of house purchase is in the value assigned to land, there is only a small marginal cost increase to building and renovating to a better quality. That addition cost could, in many cases, be offset against the reduced consumption in and running costs of such properties. We must be more active in promoting lower embedded energy materials, and recoverable, reusable materials in housing construction.