These are based on issues our readers have voted as being of most importance to our community.

We asked: What is your position on sustainability and climate change in council decision-making and planning for the future?

Here are their responses in the order groups/candidates appear on the ballot paper:

Read more:

GROUP A - Fighters for Our Region: Lisa Intemann, Kingsley Searle, Stewart Cooper, Narelle Milligan, Paul Bradford

Team Intemann supports council's adoption of sustainability as a core position in all policies and decisions.

Sustainability is often thought as being just about the environment.

However, it is much broader, covering all aspects of high quality of life, delivering a better future through more in-depth decisions and planning today, because it requires us to look at things from several different directions at once - social, environmental, economic, governance.

That approach results in more balanced decisions, better able to avoid short-sighted choices, regrettable dead-ends and mistakes.

Achieving sustainability is not an over-night thing. More like a habit we try to develop by always considering the four pillars at once: a healthy, productive and inclusive society, environment, and economy, with fair principles and justice.

Council's next step along this path requires setting specific goals, measures, and reporting methods, so both council and residents can 'audit' council's management and the real direction it is taking over time.

By way of illustration, we might ask whether this year delivered more or less social assets, such as footpaths; more or less environmental assets, such as extent of treed land; and more or less economic assets, such as permanent jobs per capita.

The community has input into what 'assets' are measured, and can then compare them year-by-year to see whether our direction is desirable, or not.

Action on climate change is one aspect of sustainability, recognising the risks from an increasingly intense climate, and responding and preparing accordingly.

For instance, better energy saving and efficiency; moving to renewables; ensuring buildings are energy, water and heat efficient, and being better prepared for, and less vulnerable to, natural extremes and disaster.

Team Intemann strongly supports a sustainable approach because it is forward-thinking, delivers more efficiency, less dead-ends, and makes council more open and accountable to both current and future residents.

GROUP B - Hastings First: Nik James Lipovac, Kerry Fox, Linda Lenord, Michael Clarke and Justin Hardie

As stated in the Port Macquarie Hastings Council Draft Sustainability Policy and the Draft Climate Change Policy, councillors are responsible for understanding the framework and applying these policies to implement our future strategy and decision making.

This means that sustainability and the impacts of climate change must be a lens that all decisions are viewed through.

Increasingly the community expectations of council are that the decisions we make now, are those that impact future generations in a positive way. The pressure of significant population increase in our LGA cannot be underestimated.

The very thing, the natural environment of the area, that people are moving to the area for is at risk.

Communities along the coast are all battling with this dilemma. Decisions can no longer be based on short term outcomes.

We must always consider the long-term impacts of decisions socially, environmentally and economically.

One practical example of making a positive sustainable impact would be to facilitate the development of plastic recycling businesses within the Hastings region.

By 2024 Australia will face a full ban on offshore recycling. The Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) has been established by the Federal Government for Recycling infrastructure.

Port-Hastings Council must pursue all the opportunities this fund will offer including plastic recycling industries. In relation to climate change, council has recognised and declared we are in a global climate emergency. We can maintain the pressure on State and Federal governments to implement their climate change strategies and policies.

Locally, we can do what we can to protect our natural environment which in turn will help us. Restoring and protecting nature is one of the greatest strategies for tackling climate change. Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems act as buffers against extreme weather, protecting houses, crops, water supplies and vital infrastructure.

GROUP C - The Greens:Lauren Edwards, Stuart Watson, Drusi Megget and Les Mitchell

The Greens' platform is based on sustainability and following through on council's Declaration of a Climate Emergency to help Port Macquarie Hastings be part of the solution, not the problem.

The Greens would promote sustainable development and renewable energy, retaining forest cover, electrification of council's vehicle fleet, and installing more electric vehicle charging stations. Other actions would be to improve pedestrian and cycling access, and promote more reliable and convenient public transport.

The Greens are strong on conserving nature by putting environmental and social considerations at the forefront of decisions about development, stronger protection for koalas and other threatened plants and animals, and increased resources for the management of council's precious bushland and coastal reserves.

The Greens are aware that there is a new industrial revolution occurring and council should think to the future and use new technology where proven to be efficient. There are new jobs coming on stream and in this LGA we could do the following - promote and facilitate installation of utility-scale renewable energy, including solar and wind farms, and add community-scale storage batteries.

Sustainability is in The Greens DNA and we are committed to meeting the challenges of climate change.

GROUP D - Team Pinson: Peta Pinson, Adam Roberts, Sharon Griffiths, Danielle Maltman and Josh Slade

In March 2021, Cr Lisa Intemann used the council chamber to move a motion to 'Declare a Climate Emergency' which was subsequently adopted as a decision of council by a majority vote of four councillors to two.

Mayor Peta Pinson and Cr Sharon Griffiths from Team Pinson were opposed to this declaration.

Team Pinson will move a motion in the chamber to rescind this declaration of a 'climate emergency'.

We believe that continuing to have the climate emergency declaration in place will continue to tie up council resources and use ratepayer money and deliver nothing more than a talk fest with no real action.

Team Pinson will focus on genuine sustainability initiatives including looking at new technologies in turning waste to energy, more advanced recycling and composting techniques.

Team Pinson will also continue to invest in solar and renewable energy options for council facilities and where appropriate investigate options for electric vehicles should the costs versus benefits stack up.

If there is a directive from higher levels of governments to do more than what we propose, we certainly will follow these directives.

GROUP E - Team Sheppard: Rachel Sheppard, Greg Freeman, Linda Elbourne, Ethan Francis

Team Sheppard supports the implementation of council's recently adopted sustainability policy and climate change response policy. A policy-driven approach is critical to ensure that change in council is efficient, collaborative, and gets results.

However, we would like to focus our answer to this question specifically regarding climate change.

In light of the serious report published by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), what can councils do at the local level?

As Rachel noted in her first engagement with council in 2019, the solutions to climate change exist. We just need the political will to make them happen.

Council's Climate Change Response policy, provides an great basis to build climate security into council operations.

We note the risk that this policy might be 'shelved' by our presiding mayor, who voted and spoke vehemently against the adoption of this policy. In contrast, our candidates will work with the rest of the councillor team to ensure that council's Climate Change Response policy is implemented swiftly and sensibly, to grow our Council and community climate security.

Our priorities for implementing the climate change response policy would be:

Team Sheppard has a clear understanding of our responsibility to think global and act local on climate change and sustainability.

Jon Bailey - Independent

Everyone needs to play there part in climate change, from local grassroots councils through to top level government.

We all need to play a part and recognise and listen to the science, to leave this planet in decent shape for our future generations.

Steven Gates (mayor only)

No response.