User:Pigfork

Ben Ramcharan (born 15 December 1995) is a Nillumbik resident and prominent advocate on issues affecting the Nillumbik community. He has been vocal about the need for better protections for neighbourhood character and the environment and improved road safety and community infrastructure. Ben Ramcharan is one of the candidates for Sugarloaf Ward in the October 2020 Nillumbik Council Elections. He ran for the Victorian Legislative Assembly as a Greens candidate in 2018.

Local Activism

In June 2019, Ramcharan established the Nillumbik Climate Emergency Action Team (formerly Climate Emergency Nillumbik) to press for Nillumbik Council to declare a Climate Emergency.

In September 2019, Ramcharan campaigned against Nillumbik Council's new draft Green Wedge Management plan on the grounds that it could damage the local environment. He drew public attention to this risk, speaking on 3CR Community Radio. The Council received 746 submissions, most of which were objecting to the Plan..

In September 2019, Ramcharan raised concerns about Nillumbik Shire’s plans to privatise their waste collection service, pointing out that the plan would take jobs away from locals and reduce the quality of the service. The Warrandyte Diary quoted Ramcharan as saying "It's very disappointing to see that Nillumbik Council is privatising our waste collection service. Ratepayers' money that was once used to create jobs for locals is now being spent outside of our Shire. Ratepayers deserve better than this and so do our hard-working garbos. My thoughts are with all of the council staff whose jobs and livelihoods are lost or at risk under the current council's agenda."

On 24 September 2019, Ramcharan challenged Nillumbik Council about their use of carcinogenic glyphosate-based herbicide. As he put it, "Contractors are often unaware of why they are spraying and because of the decision to not put green dye in the glyphosate in Nillumbik, locals are often unaware of areas that have been sprayed."

In January 2020, after a truck rolled over in North Warrandyte, trapping a car, Ramcharan drew attention to the fact that four truck rollovers had occurred at the south end of Research-Warrandyte Road in the past two years. Working with local resident Renee Shelvin as well as Simone Mariani, whose car was trapped in a truck rollover in November 2019, Ramcharan built a community campaign for improved safety for local residents, road users and pedestrians. The campaign demanded that any roadworks should entail minimal impact on local character and the environment, whilst giving due consideration to the needs of truck drivers. He and Mariani met with local MP Ryan Smith, who helped to advance the issue. Speaking to the Warrandyte Diary, Ramcharan said "Good decisions are made in politics when you ask the community what they want and ask the experts how it can be done. [...] Now it’s time to take the next step".

In March 2020, after running a Clean Up Australia Day event in Kangaroo Ground where 83kg of litter was collected, Ramcharan alerted Council to the extent of the litter problem in the Green Wedge as a result of drive-by littering and spillage from kerbside bins. He continued his pursuit of Nillumbik Council, questioning if they were doing anything to raise awareness of the issue and reduce spillage from bins. He followed with concerns that Council contractors had used grass cutters in the area before collecting litter, leaving small fragments of litter strewn along the side of the road.