Forums provide candidates an opportunity to pitch directly to electors on business and environment matters

Albany mayoral candidates were given a second opportunity to answer questions from members of the community during a forum hosted by Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday. All seven nominees vying to be Albany’s next mayor were in attendance at the Meet the Candidates event. Great Southern Development Commission chair Ricky Burges facilitated the forum and gave each candidate two minutes to introduce themselves before they each took turns answering pre-prepared questions. Candidates were asked about their commitment to small business, their plans to capitalise on opportunities in the lead-up to and during the 2026 Bicentenary and what they believed the role of the mayor was. After the three pre-prepared questions had been answered, questions from the floor sought thoughts from the candidates on matters concerning child care availability and supporting the tourism industry. ACCI chief executive Kristen Pyrz-Brown said she appreciated the candidates taking the time to present their platforms at the forum. “They each have a strong stance on what they can be doing to progress Albany which made it very interesting,” she said. “We were particularly interested in finding out how the City of Albany can use the framework of the Small Business Friendly Charter to which they are signatories to help the business community. “They all seemed to be aware of the current issues facing business in Albany so I look forward to continuing the work we’ve been doing with the city’s executive and the new Mayor to address some of those.” She said she received positive feedback from ACCI members who attended the forum. “Further consultation will need to be done for some of those candidates whose areas of expertise lie in other areas, so I encourage anyone in the business community to approach candidates if they wish to find out more about where they stand on certain issues,” she said. “Likewise, if any of the candidates wish to know what our membership base has fed back to us in our recent survey as being the issues they are dealing with right now, I would welcome their interest.” A week prior a number of mayoral and council candidates took the opportunity to talk at a similar forum organised by Albany Community Environment Centre on September 8. There they answered questions asked by speakers from different Albany environmental groups which prompted “positive and sensible discussion” according to the ACEC. Facilitator Diane Evers said “there were large number of issues facing the region, including biodiversity, mining, clearing of remnant bushland, climate readiness, sustainable planning and water management”.