Profile
Lisa Owen
Lisa (Elizabeth) Owen was born in Melbourne in 1955 and studied at Aquinas Teacher's College Ballarat, Melbourne Teacher's College and Deakin University. She came to Warrnambool from Melbourne with her husband, David, to open Kodak Express 26 years ago. She has two children, Skye 22 and James 16 and is able to look at the issues from a variety of viewpoints being a mother, an educator and a business owner. Lisa is a long time member of the Greens, the convenor of the Warrnambool Greens and was the lower house candidate for Wannon in the 2007 federal election.
Lisa's motivation for running for Council.
Lisa cares deeply about the future of Warrnambool and its residents. Warrnambool is unique amongst Victorian cities. Its beautiful, clean coastal location, rich history and countryside, lively economy, exceptional educational and health facilities and strategic position in the South West make it a desirable place to live but Lisa knows that Warrnambool's growth in population requires serious planning for the future. Planning and acting now on climate change and for sustainability will make Warrnambool a better, safer place for our children's future.
To do this, we must deal with the issues of sustainability and reduce our carbon footprint. Lisa knows that public consultation will be vital to successful planning and through her experiences as both candidate and resident, she is keenly aware of the need to listen with impartiality and respect.
If we are to travel safely into the future, Warrnambool must become more self sufficient with the use and production of fuel, power, food and water. We must aim to produce and buy locally. We must support local farmers, trades, manufacturers and businesses. We need to plan for affordable, sustainable housing and create better more livable communities for the future. We need to improve and increase our public transport. We need to apply sustainability principles to all building codes. We need to look to renewable energy sources. We need to deal with the problems of landfill, packaging and recycling.
The environment of our foreshore, bays and waterways needs to be nurtured and safeguarded and we need to protect our remnant and native flora and fauna not only for our children's future but also to create jobs and stimulate the economy through eco tourism and associated industries and businesses.
We need to engage the young people in our community and assist their education at every level. We need to improve and increase the number of nursing homes and assisted living residences for our growing aged population. We need to attempt to address the problems of poverty, drugs, alcohol, gambling and homelessness.
We need to make Warrnambool a drawcard for professionals and skilled workers from all walks of life.
Warrnambool is perfectly situated to become a thriving, sustainable city of the future but it will take people of vision to make it happen. When it comes to local government election issues, Lisa says that, "A catch cry of the Greens has been ‘Think long term'. A vote for me is a vote for your children's future."
