For anyone who thinks their election vote doesn’t count, meet John Frost.
The 41-year-old Point Cook resident ran as an independent for Harrison ward in this year’s council elections and missed out on gaining a spot by eight votes.
He tells Charlene Macaulay why he put his hand up, his family, and life in Point Cook.
You moved to Point Cook 12 years ago. Where did you move from, and why?
We lived in Geelong West, and my wife’s parents lived in St Albans while mine lived in Geelong, so Point Cook was the middle ground. I love it here. It’s kind of close to everything.
We’ve got our town centre, we’ve got Hopheads down the road, which is starting to become a bit of an icon. The schools are close, we’re close to the city, and we’ve got a lot of friends around here.
What do you do for work?
I’ve been gardening for 11 years. My 10-year contract with Jim’s Mowing was up this year so I decided to go out by myself and started Integrated Garden Services.
What do you like about having your own business?
The flexibility to be able to work when you want; you’re your own boss. I’m more of a salesman with my own business than I was when I was a sales rep [before I got into gardening], because I’m now selling myself. Also, I get to employ locals and you can work where you live.
You’re also a volunteer firefighter with Point Cook CFA. What made you sign up?
I think Black Saturday was the catalyst. Me and a mate, who lives around the corner, went down and joined up and we’ve been part of it ever since. My father was a volunteer many, many moons ago.
Tell me about some of the call-outs you’ve attended.
Grassfires out the back of Little River, Wyndham Vale and all over the state. We’ve had kids’ heads stuck in cots and staircases …car accidents.
What are some of your hobbies outside work?
We’ve got a caravan and we like going camping. A couple of weeks ago we were in Wye River. We also go bike riding … mainly spending time with the kids.
You ran as an independent in this year’s council poll. What made you put your hand up?
Knowing Bob Fairclough and Glenn Goodfellow were leaving, I thought they were big shoes to fill. But I thought I could fill them.
The councillors we had, even though they might have been great, many were semi-retired or retired and lived in older parts of Werribee and Hoppers Crossing. I felt that living in Point Cook, having kids in the area … I can better understand some of the issues facing young families.
We had trouble getting into kinder and childcare, and sometimes my workers spend an hour, an hour-and-a-half in traffic every day.
You missed out on a place in Harrison ward by only eight votes. Were you surprised by the result?
I came second in primary votes [for Harrison ward], which made me realise I was doing something right. The amazing thing was people I didn’t even know posting things for me [on social media]. That was humbling. When people say “My vote doesn’t count”, it does.
