Doug Mann | Public figure
Doug Mann
Reviews
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25.01.2022 I've been at the Geelong High School polling booth all day today, and will be there until close of voting at 6PM tonight. Come down and say hi! Still just over an hour left to vote if you haven't already.
24.01.2022 All our hopes, our dreams for ourselves and our kids and our grandkids, all the big and little worries that beset us just for the privilege of being alive, none of it amounts to as much as ‘a hill of beans’, as Bogie once said, if we can’t get this right. It’s going to take guts and sacrifice but the alternative - surrender - or worse still - denial -undermines almost to the point of meaninglessness every other pursuit with which we fill our lives. We can’t leave it to someone else; it’s ours; we own it. Talk to your friends, write to your newspapers, spread it on Facebook and every platform there is, hassle you politicians, make a noise. Nations like the U.S.A. And Australia need to become leaders in this our greatest challenge. If John Lennon we’re still alive I know what Christmas song he would be writing today. It’s time to step up.
23.01.2022 It's great to see that students at Deakin University are campaigning for their institution to be free of fossil fuel investments. As a Deakin alumni myself, this is a cause that I wholeheartedly support. As such, I have signed the petition at the link below, and I encourage others to do the same as well. https://campaigns.gofossilfree.org//divest-deakin-universi - Doug.
22.01.2022 Here's me with Ben Elton. Yes, BEN ELTON!! I know it's not Patrick Dangerfield, but it's the best I could do. He whispered in my ear, "Vote 1 Doug Mann for Curdinya", or something like that. But seriously, if you want a champion for the Arts, not to mention Social Justice, do share.
22.01.2022 Well, would you look at that. Hey, everyone, there's an elephant in the room! His name is 'Old Geelong' and no one really wants to acknowledge him, which is odd... because he is quite famous. Or should I say, infamous. The Geelong Advertiser brought him to widespread notice but he was well-known even before that. Old Geelong was a previous Council first called out in a report to State Parliament's Electoral Matters Committee which heard that HALF the Geelong council team had accepted donations from property developers. This was the same Council that awarded itself the right to spend $600,000 per councillor, annually, for the next nine years, essentially unsolicited, to the tune of $52,000,000 of our money. Boy, that must have bought a lot of hay. Oh, and don't be fooled by the elephant's cute expression: he can really be quite a bully. If we let him. Perhaps it's time Old Geelong was put out to pasture. If enough of us put all previous councillors last in our voting order we just might persuade the old fellow to get out of the room, and let people with a bit of vision and integrity have a go. Vote 1 Doug Mann (Kardinia). See more
21.01.2022 Is there anyone left who hasn’t yet voted in the COGG election? How to summarise for the good folk who bother to read my stuff what I want for Geelong, and promise to work my guts out to achieve, if elected? Here goes: 1. More reasons for our young people to stay in Geelong rather than seek opportunities elsewhere. How? Aggressively encourage and invest in a vibrant, diverse Arts, Foodies and Cultural Day-and-Nightlife for this burg. Attract new people for the Lifestyle and y...ou bring in new money and jobs. 2. Nurture and cherish those things that we already love about this region; invest in those areas that are not so beautiful. I'm talking Trees, people: half a million or more could fit on neglected nature strips alone to create the greenest small city on the planet. And Light too! Partnerships between Council and shopowners to build a shared solar battery network to light every shop in Geelong all night through. Most people are surprised to learn that Geelong has twice as many Heritage listed buildings as Ballarat, but we could and should be doing much more with them. Geelong has heaps of wow! factor, it's just that much of it is hidden behind ugly signage and bad paint jobs. 3. None of the above are pipe dreams, none would break the bank. All it takes is a shared vision and community partnership. The Clever and Creative Future document is a great place to start. We are very much a city in transition and big change is coming. Some of it we can't fund but we need careful planning to ensure we don't turn into Melbourne's outer western suburb. a Convention centre? Of course! But it won't happen without united advocacy. And anything under a 3000 seater is a joke. A bridge from Pt Henry to Avalon? It will happen sooner or later. Again, we can't do it, that's a state and federal gig, but imagine how good it could be if we got it right and didn't settle for a metro centric version of what they think we deserve. It could be the most inspirational multi-mode transporter in the world. We need vision. We need unity. We need A New Beginning. 4. If we can catapult this town into being the most desirable lifestyle destination south of the equator those potholes, friends, will almost fix themselves. 5. Just one problem. Old Geelong. You know them. They've got form. Compromising political donations. $600k annual unscrutinised play money (that's $52,000,000 of our money over nine years which could have bought a lot of trees and meals on wheels). And the bullying, ah, the story that just keeps on giving. Anyone who was on a past council and DID NOT ACT to reign any or all of the above is complicit, in my view. A New Beginning. That's what we need. For Our Future, and our children's future, and their children's future. You know what to do.
20.01.2022 To all friends south and north of the Barwon, I would like you to know that I will be standing for COGG election in the Kardinia Ward. Time for a new broom, don't you think? Do we really want a return to the acrimonious dysfunction of previous councils? I have runs on the board as a creative professional and I understand the workings of good governance. People who know me say I have vision and integrity and a good dose of common sense. So please consider voting Doug Mann for Kardinia Ward and share my Facebook page with your friends once I've brought it up to date.
17.01.2022 Hey, good people, I posted my suggested order of COGG voting a couple of days ago complete with reasons but I'll give you the quick version now: 1 Doug Mann, 2 Mary Walker, 3 Brent Lyons-Lee, 9 Darren Hauenstein, 10 Bruce Harwood, 11 Ron Nelson. The last two are former councillors with form and Darren is there to scoop up votes for Harwood (though he may not know it). Both Harwood and Nelson are spending phenomenal amounts on their campaigns and the source of their funds will not be declared until a month after the election. Boo Hiss!
17.01.2022 The Clever and Creative Geelong policy is the most exhaustive and consultative research document ever produced in Geelong. I am a big supporter of it as a blueprint for our future. And thousands of Geelong people agree. At a campaign launch with Brownbill Ward candidate Mik Aidt we shared our enthusiasm for the plan and agreed to support each other to help achieve its goals. A city that works for people. A prosperous, smart, vibrant place where all that is great about the region can thrive around a city that pulses with life: arts, culture, food, natural beauty. A place that will attract the brightest and best to live here. This vision is no daydream. A responsibly led and informed community can do this. It's for us and for our children and it's already happening elsewhere. Why not Geelong? #Dougmann4geelong #mikforgeelong #geelongvotes.
16.01.2022 Lots of you know me out there in Theatreland. It's time I sold myself. Gulp. Wrote my first play when I was 10. Wrote other stuff throughout High School but got into acting. More writing and acting through the Uni years. Sat a music exam for which I was totally unqualified, and passed. Almost kicked out of Uni. More acting. Then teaching. Wrote first musical at 22. Then followed thirty-nine years (yes, 39!) of working with young people, turning them on to theatre and themselv...es. Wrote/directed lots of shows for schools. Various Awards. (e.g. Guild Awards for "Sweeney Todd"). Created own theatre company. Wind in the Willows. Peta and the Wolves. Geelong and Melbourne seasons. Last performer in a major musical at GPAC to sing without a microphone! I can be loud - ask anyone. Did a dozen shows for the National Trust in Geelong, helping cement the Vic Heritage Festival. Etcetera, etcetera. Had enough? get the picture? Do I know theatre, do I love it? I plead guilty, your Honours. So why am I inflicting myself upon y'all? Because I'm running for Council. (FX: crowd groan) You can check out what I'm about on my Facebook page(s) and there may even be a website somewhere. But know this, people: If you want someone on Council who will work and cajole and argue and fight his guts out for Theatre, the Performing Arts, ALL Arts in the Geelong region, then Vote 1 Doug Mann. We need more of what the Arts bring to our souls, our sense of Pride and Place. More support, more focus, more venues (all sizes), better strategy, more money for Art and Artists in Geelong. That's a promise. Not a politician's promise. More like a lover's. Cheers. See more
13.01.2022 We need a New Beginning in Geelong. We live in a beautiful region and our city has great history and many wonderful features. But each year people (many of them young) leave in droves in search of a richer social life and better employment opportunities. And each year we have new people coming to Geelong for essentially lifestyle reasons: the coast, the relative ease of getting around, the cheaper housing. We are very fortunate to have four major government departments settin...g up shop in Geelong which will stimulate our economy. But we will have to do the heavy lifting from here. We need to grow excitement and opportunity in this region without compromising the lifestyle factors that we love and which attract people here. So we need smart planning, real encouragement for artists, foodies and night-life entrepreneurs; more venues of all sizes; green belts that don't get filled in by urban sprawl; roads that work for people; trees, big trees everywhere we can fit them; and a city which is alive with light all through the night. All these things we can do as a city with united leadership, dedicated long-term planning and community buy-in. I'm prepared to have a real go. Vote 1 Doug Mann for a New Beginning. See more
10.01.2022 Doug Mann interviewed live on air on 94.7 The Pulse - on Market Day at the Act on Climate Festival in Geelong. The 100% solar-powered broadcast marked the 100t...h Sustainable Hour - see more on www.climatesafety.info/thesustainablehour Find more information about the stalls on www.actonclimatefestival.org/market See more
10.01.2022 Vale Joan Kirner, our first and only female Premier in the state of Victoria. A wonderful and generous person.
10.01.2022 Great to see more Humans in Geelong this last weekend than Zombies. Hope lives! Reject Old Geelong, we need a New Beginning. It’s our future and our children’s and our grandchildren’s too!
08.01.2022 I'll be MCing the Geelong film premier of 'This Changes Everything' on the 23rd of November as part of the Act On Climate Festival. More details at the link below. ->
06.01.2022 Before I lay me down to sleep, here's one thing more. If you want to know how Doug would like you to vote in the COGG election, it goes like this: Vote 1 Doug Mann (naturally) Vote 2 Mary Walker (trusted friend) Vote 3 Brent Lyons-Lee (we share several common goals) The rest is up to you, with this one proviso: if we are ever to learn from the past we need to recognise the necessity to say NO to OLD GEELONG. This is code for "Councillors That WERE", you know, the ones who awarded themselves the right to spend $52,000,000 of our money, essentially unscrutinised, over a nine year period in the attempt to gain themselves a job for life. You know them. The Donations Scandal. The bullying. They've had their go. This election, put them last. And let us together take this beautiful region of ours into A New Beginning.
06.01.2022 It's fantastic to see that some serious consideration is being put into greening the Geelong CBD. This will go a long way to changing its character and appeal for the better. - Team Doug
05.01.2022 Local politics can’t be about individual aspirations we need to think bigger, and we have to collaborate to create the sort of change which is necessary now, Doug Mann and Mik Aidt said in a joint statement. The special circumstances around this council election open a unique, once-in-lifetime window for making a fresh start with a change of culture.
02.01.2022 Many parts of the older Geelong suburbs lack trees in obvious places. Who decided only wealthier suburbs deserved to be called ‘leafy’? With a dedicated community/ Council led campaign we can turn this town into a model for the planet. Imagine googling Greenest City in World and getting the answer: Geelong, Australia. Young people leave Geelong in search of greater opportunities but other young people are coming to settle in Geelong for lifestyle reasons. That is our competitive advantage. We have to get it right. We can be an exemplar to the world. It’s our future or else it’s nothing but Old Geelong. Vote for a New Beginning.
01.01.2022 I wrote this in response to a letter addressed to the people of Geelong from the Prime Minister's office, (Geelong Advertiser, Monday, April 20, 2015). The PM was bemoaning the demise of the East West Link project. The Addy was not inclined to publish my letter: Dear Tony, Thank-you for your insightful views on Melbourne’s East-West Link project. It’s not often the good people of Geelong receive a personal missive from a sitting PM, nor such illumination into the mind of a ma...Continue reading
