Houses of the Oireachtas’ Post

If you live on the Sunshine Coast, in 60 days, you will vote for your Division Councillor and your Mayor. So, what does that mean to you? You decide who: • leads, manages and provides strategic direction for the Sunshine Coast • represents you on a local, state, national and international level • sets the tone by leading and managing council meetings, working alongside fellow elected councillors and manages unsuitable meeting conduct • provides high-quality leadership to the Sunshine Coast Council CEO to ensure the corporate plan is achieved • participates in council meetings for policy development and decision-making • ensures compliance with applicable laws • ensures legislative compliance • is accountable to the community for the Sunshine Coast Council’s performance. What many people don’t know is that the Mayor only has one vote alongside their fellow Councillors, unless there is a tie where the Mayor makes the casting vote. So, who you vote as your Division Councillor and who you elect as your Mayor will significantly impact the success of your region. Over the coming week, I will share why I know I am the Mayoral Candidate of Choice to lead a new era in Council. Polling booths open on the 4th March, with Saturday 16th March being the official election day. #minformayor #teammin #teamsunshinecoast #mayor2024

Today, Nashville Mayor O’Connell’s three transition committees shared their reports and recommendations. It was held at the Downtown Nashville Library. This was a brilliant discussion about how Nashville Moves, Works, and Grows. Naturally, the committee report I anticipated most was Nashville Moves, chaired by Alex Jahangir, because it is a well-researched, intentional look at our transportation future. I believe it could be a reliable roadmap to success. With guiding principles and policy recommendations, it’s the perfect place to go for next steps. One of the recommendations is to go to referendum for transit funding. The report reveals that the mayor should determine when the city will go to the ballot and do that as quickly as possible. Then, it does mention the possibility of a November 2024 ballot. While it was not an announcement for that, an audience member asked Freddie O'Connell if we would see a transit funding referendum in 2024. To his credit, the mayor didn’t dismiss it immediately! It was a great feeling to be there in the audience for that moment. It is encouraging to at least have the conversation. You can see more about the Nashville Moves report: https://lnkd.in/ei2uVCrs #transitiseasential

Here’s the scoop on transition plans and the possible future of mobility in Nashville.

I have largely and purposely kept the politics of this General Election campaign off my social media feeds as I continue to feel pretty homeless politically but I cannot turn a blind eye to some of the deliberate mistruths and misleading remarks being made by a prospective candidate here about the NHS and in particular our local hospital. Peter Prinsley is the Labour candidate for the Bury St Edmunds & Stowmarket and has very much benchmarked his campaign on "I am an NHS doctor, vote for me for change" - its true, Mr Prinsley is a Consultant ENT Surgeon at the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital. HOWEVER, what he has failed to disclose is that he has an extensive private service every week at the Spire Hospital in Norwich - https://lnkd.in/exTzafPd How hypocritical! Where's the transparency and integrity in the campaign material and the message that is being sent with it? Another classic example of "do as I say, not as I do" that has become stereotypical of so many in our politics of any colour. And then today, Peter Prinsley issues a video on his Twitter feed claiming that the West Suffolk Hospital has "not had a hole dug" in respect of it being on the New Hospital Programme. This is totally false and misleading. Not only does the new hospital have outline planning permission, but access roads are in and the preparatory groundworks already underway. This general election campaign has been rather dull and lacklustre on many counts but it would be remiss of me given my involvement in the NHS locally to not expose these gross inaccuracies. How can you place your trust in voting for someone who makes remarks like this? #politics #ukgeneralelection #election #generalelection

A general election looms on the horizon in the UK, and while I'm encouraged by some politicians' plans to reverse the direction in which the arts and creativity are being forced, recent statements claiming that "creative skills shouldn't be treated as a luxury" resonate deeply with me. However, they should resonate with us all. We know that experiencing arts and culture is a social good in itself, connecting with health and well-being, happiness, identity and sense of place. But the creative industries are also an economic powerhouse. The government recently estimated that the creative industries generated a staggering £126bn in gross value added to the economy and employed 2.4 million people in 2022. Despite these exceptional figures, it is disheartening that the arts continue to be profoundly undervalued and are often the first to face budget cuts. Given this extraordinary social and economic benefit, we need politicians to consider bold, strategic policy options that enable deeper, more meaningful investments to be made in the arts. creative production and employment opportunities. For example, in Ireland government ministers established an Arts & Culture Taskforce to support the sector to adapt and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to the launch of Basic Income for the Arts—a trial programme investing in the arts, culture, audio-visual and live performance and events sectors over a three-year period. Innovative approaches like this could open the door to a very different creative future for the UK's next generation of artists and creatives. It is essential that creative learning becomes an integral part of education for everyone—not so that everyone becomes an artist, but so we live in a country where innovative thinking and creative approaches drive progress in every field. Imagine a future with creative engineers, financiers, lawyers, teachers, agricultural operations, councillors.... and politicians. Creative education can equip individuals with the innovative mindset to tackle complex problems, adapt to changing circumstances, and lead with vision and empathy. Without a change to government policy, the outlook for the arts in the UK is bleak. In our local community alone, the creative landscape is under existential threat from budget cuts. It is increasingly difficult for new creative voices to be heard. The systematic disregard of the arts over recent years reveals a fundamental lack of recognition for its cultural and societal value. Those in power often fail to see the vital role of the arts in enriching lives and fostering community. Art is not merely a luxury; it is a fundamental human need—a place of solace, inspiration, imagination, and resilience, as evidenced by the widespread turn to music, written and spoken word, to TV and film, to games and art during the global challenges in 2020.

No matter who gets the keys to 10 Downing Street on Friday morning, one thing we do know is that we are going to see a drastic new cohort of Parliamentarians. Whilst Kier Starmer is adamant that he is well equipped to manage the work-life balance of being a Member of Parliament, this is one of the things that many new MPs naturally struggle with. They're also not going to know how to work on a select committee, how to use the library, how to change the law, how to deliver a speech, how to do their expenses (correctly), how to deal with the Lords, how to engage with lobbyists or journalists & so much more. Shortly after the Election, The House Magazine will be publishing our Westminster Toolkit which answers all these questions & more; helping MPs understand the bizarre world of working in Parliament. We are looking for a headline sponsor or a couple of shared sponsors for the publication, if this sounds of interest, drop me a line! (You can find the 2020 Edition in the comments)

With the election results last night, who else is thinking back to this final slide in a Chapman Tripp training session a few months ago and wondering what the next 100 days will hold for us Planners? The changes continue! #planningplus #professional #RMReform #NBEA #SPA #MDRS #experienced #UnitaryPlan #landdevelopment #subdivision

This is an important read if you’re concerned about the future of communities and democracy. Chris does a great job summarizing the worrying trends we are seeing in municipal leadership. We need to address the underlying causes because the problem is only going to grow. #greatgovernance #municipal #Cdnmuni

We at Bromsgrove Liberal Democrats’, Mid-Worcestershire Liberal Democrats, Redditch and Inkberrow Liberal Democrats’, West Worcestershire Liberal Democrats’, Worcester Liberal Democrats’ & Wyre Forest Liberal Democrats’ would like to say ▶️ We want to offer you #AFairDeal for Worcestershire 🔶💛🎗️👍 More and more people are turning to the Liberal Democrats to put an end to this terrible Conservative Government. Now more than ever, people deserve a Fair Deal. This is our plan to deliver that. 🔗▶️ libdems.org.uk/plan

A general election looms on the horizon in the UK, and while I'm encouraged by some politicians' plans to reverse the direction in which the arts and creativity are being forced, recent statements claiming that "creative skills shouldn't be treated as a luxury" resonate deeply with me. However, they should resonate with us all. The government recently estimated that the creative industries generated a staggering £126bn in gross value added to the economy and employed 2.4 million people in 2022. Despite these exceptional figures, it is disheartening that the arts continue to be profoundly undervalued and are often the first to face budget cuts. Those in power often fail to see the vital role of the arts in enriching lives and fostering community. Art is not merely a luxury; it is a fundamental human need—a place of solace, inspiration, imagination, and resilience. 👉🏽Now is the time for change. This is why we are encouraging everyone to register to vote - and to use that vote to secure a government that values and champions the profound impact of artistic endeavours on individual lives and society as a whole. Your vote can make a difference. Vote and raise your voice to lobby for change. Read the rest of Lighthouse CEO & Artistic Director Alli Beddoes' open letter here: https://lnkd.in/eAu9r2ZM A General Election has been called for 4 July 2024. Register to vote by 11:59PM on 18 June 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/dBR7ZwQ #GeneralElection #UKElection #TimeForChange #StopBudgetCuts #ArtIsNotALuxury #Brighton #Hove #BrightonAndHove #VotesMatter #RegisterToVote