Long-time South Coast broadcaster Peter 'Disko' Diskon has put his hand up to run for a spot on the Eurobodalla Shire Council at the upcoming elections.
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'Disko', who spent almost 40 years in commercial radio, including a stint with 2EC, will run on Mayoral candidate Rob Pollock's team as an independent.
He retired from commercial radio in 2016, but has hosted shows on community radio station 2ER since his retirement.
Mr Diskon said he had planned to nominate for the last council election before two heart attacks and open heart surgery forced his withdrawal.
He also touched on the outside noise regarding Councillor Pollock's affiliation with the Liberal Party.
"Rob hasn't been a member of the Liberal Party for more than 10 years," he said.
"I was a member of the National Party myself, and the secretary of the Inverell Branch some 15 years ago.
"However, I have no interest in running as anything other than an independent."
Mr Diskon said he'd identified several areas of concern around the Shire that he would address if elected.
"I will be working to ensure the Eurobodalla gets what it expects in the new Regional Hospital, that is a Level 4 Hospital," he said.
"The oncology services at the hospital need to be increased, and with everything that the Eurobodalla has gone through over recent years, I believe mental health services also need to be improved.
"During my time on the board of Hope House I became very aware of the issues of homelessness and low-cost housing availability in our Shire, and I'll be pushing both council and all other levels of government to address this issue.
"Low-cost housing is one part of the issue, but there is a serious need to address the issue of homelessness, so I'll be working with homeless shelters to address what we need to do to fix this issue."
Mr Diskon also said he believes council meetings should be live streamed as the "technology is readily available" and it would "lead to much more transparency".
"I'm a communicator, I've been doing it successfully on radio and television for more than 40 years," he said.
"I've always worked on the Don Chip mantra of 'keeping the bastards honest', and I'll be the community's voice in council."
Joel Erickson
Contact me at j.erickson@austcommunity.com.au or 0447 796 748.
Contact me at j.erickson@austcommunity.com.au or 0447 796 748.
