The Discernable Interviews
Business Innovation Series Episode 2 - Deputy Lord Mayor Arron Wood
51 Minutes
Arron Wood is not your typical politician. In fact, I’m not sure he’s a politician at all! Granted – he does hold the office of Deputy Lord Mayor for the City of Melbourne, and he is campaigning in next month’s council elections to become the Lord Mayor. But when I came across Arron on social media, it wasn’t via a political ad or a sponsored post. I simply noticed someone who was posting sympathetic, thoughtful, and engaging content, and perhaps most tellingly a majority of that interaction was in replies and comments to other people.
Political messaging is often unidirectional, and getting community leaders to listen and engage in a genuine way is rare but I’m convinced it’s the key to electoral success. It would be no surprise to me then should I be addressing Arron as Mr Mayor at the end of next month. And it’s my pleasure to welcome him to our Series on Business Innovation which explores how business can and will rise from the ashes of COVID-19, and the unprecedented lockdowns around the world.
Show Notes:
1:14 – A non-politician politician
3:20 – Why enter politics?
5:00 – Who would Arron vote for in a federal or state election?
7:04 – Arron’s long walk to political office
9:40 – Business destruction under government lockdowns
11:20 – Extending 5km radius limit to 10km
13:36 – A better way out of lockdown
15:50 – 15% of Melbourne hospitality businesses are already gone
17:00 – Melbourne is a conversation town
18:25 – The fabric and heart of Melbourne
19:50 – Arron’s condemnation of the lockdown
22:30 – The internal machinations of political parties
23:25 – Arron lays out an alternative plan for Melbourne
25:25 – Switching from handouts to cutting red tape
26:20 – We should expect COVID cases to go up when lockdown ends
28:38 – The shift in tone around lockdowns
30:18 – Arron predicts Melbourne’s recovery timeline
33:35 – Resurrecting Melbourne without the government
35:50 – Make your bed!
36:55 – Environmentalist or businessman?
39:30 – A plan to export hydrogen worldwide
41:10 – What does Arron drive?
43:30 – Sustainability is more than the environment
44:20 – Sustainability in regional Australia
47:00 – Ambitions for state parliament and the original intent of parliament
Follow Arron:
https://www.facebook.com/ArronWoodMelbourne
