By Matthew Sims
Entrepreneur, wealth planner, success coach, business advisor and author Ron Malhotra has vowed to improve safety, foster economic growth, encourage community engagement and enhance infrastructure if he is voted in as the Officer Ward councillor in the upcoming October Cardinia Council elections.
He said he has decided to run in Officer Ward after living in the area for more than 10 years.
“During this time, I have witnessed Officer Ward evolve from a rural area into one of the fastest-growing communities in the outer South East,” Mr Malhotra said.
“This rapid development has brought new opportunities for residents and small businesses, but also presents significant challenges, such as the need for smart town planning, increased road capacity, and ample recreational spaces.
“My experience running a financial planning business allowed me to meet many wonderful, down-to-earth people in Cardinia.”
Mr Malhotra said his community work had included running financial education seminars in Cardinia, facilitating workshops for migrants in Casey, establishing a foundational program to assist homeless people in Melbourne and as vice president of the Global Transitions Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation supporting abused and homeless children in Australia and developing countries.
“I firmly uphold the principle of self-empowerment as a crucial strategy for reducing dependency and enhancing self-esteem,” he said.
“Individuals who are empowered and confident tend to exhibit greater productivity and make more significant contributions to their communities, compared to those who rely on social services.
“Moving forward, I am committed to channelling more of my energy, skills and efforts into community-level initiatives.”
Mr Malhotra said now was the time to support communities to become more conscious of economic happenings in their area and beyond.
“Generally speaking, communities in the outer suburbs and regions tend to be less engaged in economic, commercial and political affairs, compared to the inner suburb constituencies,” he said.
“With the current cost of living, and the challenges that it represents, I feel that it is more important than ever for residents in the outer suburbs to be more engaged with the economic and political activity in their area, given this has the potential to affect their standard of living.
“Coming from a professional money management background, I believe being prosperous is a fundamental right of all Cardinia residents.”
Mr Malhotra said Cardinia Council needed to make their stance clear on a number of significant issues if the area was to grow and prosper.
“Over the last four years, we have witnessed a lot of neutrality, or political correctness, on really important issues,” he said.
“I hear the frustration from many local residents of Cardinia, and can relate to their pain.
“It has come to a point where I either stay silent, or stand up for what is right.”
Mr Malhotra said the council had demonstrated significant inefficiencies and errors which would require “urgent attention”, including an increase in crime rates, a rise in rates without corresponding improvements in services, and a decline in road quality, highlighted by a surge in the number of potholes.
“Critical thinking, courage to challenge political correctness and the ability to debate important issues is central to my campaign,” he said.
“My extensive and diverse business experience has taught me to be less concerned with political correctness and more concerned with achieving results that actually matter.
“I’m here to serve my community and see its residents prosper.”
