John Brown’s political motto comes from the infamous words of the late Winston Churchill – “Never give up, never give up, never give up!”
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The freelance journalist will run for the Greens in Maitland in the state election on March 23.
Mr Brown, of Bolwarra Heights, was the Greens candidate at the previous state election in 2015.
Mr Brown, a father of one and grandfather of two, said the recent weather had highlighted his party’s big cause for the campaign.
“One message I want to send to Maitland residents is that ‘it’s cool to be Green’,” Mr Brown said.
“After the recent heatwaves across Australia it has become critical to plant more trees, right across the city, in suburban and business precincts.
“More trees reduce the heat build-up …. it’s incredible how trees can help bring down the temperature.
“Our environment is crucial to our health.
“We Greens have been very disturbed at the number of trees being cleared in the Maitland area. We need to take more care of our environment.”
He sighted the clearing of Bolwarra Wetlands, an issue he has long been passionate about, as a key example.
“Volunteers of all ages helped plant thousands of trees in this reserve. Maitland Council helped fund the project and then stepped back to watch developers rip most of them out,” he said.
“We have to stop this tree destruction and give our city a chance to breathe.”
Mr Brown said that ending domestic violence was also big on the Greens’ agenda.
“We need more support for women, more housing, more facilities, more financial and health support to end this epidemic which is prevalent in Maitland,” he said.
Mr Brown is a former Maitland Mercury and Newcastle Herald journalist/editor.
His community roles include more than 20 years as a member of the Friends of Maitland Library, Red Cross volunteer and former member of the Maitland Heritage Committee and Bolwarra Landcare.
As well as having a second tilt at the state seat of Maitland, Mr Brown's political career involves being a former Maitland councillor and having previously run for the Federal seat of Paterson and for the role of Maitland mayor.
Mr Brown joins Liberal candidate and Maitland councillor Sally Halliday and Animal Justice Party candidate Amy Johnson in the race to unseat Labor’s Jenny Aitchison.
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