When Louis Delacretaz and his family moved to Sassafras in the Dandenong Ranges some twenty years ago, they entered a community which was struggling against residential subdivision, intensive development and the clearing of bush blocks. Louis became active in local politics and was elected to Sherbrooke Council in 1988. As a councillor for six years, during which time he also served as council President, he worked with local environment groups to introduce strong planning laws in order to protect the area from over-development.

From there on, Louis's involvement in supporting local communities and protecting the environment increased rapidly: between 1988 and 1995, he was on the board of the Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Authority, which oversaw planning in four councils. In 1997, he was elected councillor of the Shire of the Yarra Ranges, serving as Mayor in 1999-2000, – this enabled him to work closely with local communities to retain their schools, pools and build economically sustainable townships.

Louis currently represents the Green Wedge Coalition (an umbrella organisation of 159 environmental and community groups) on the Melbourne 2030 Implementation Reference Group. He was appointed to the Premier’s Green Wedge Working party which helped developed Melbourne’s new green belt and urban growth boundary. He is also treasurer of the Save the Dandenongs League, and a former President (but still a current member) of the Upper Yarra and Dandenongs Environmental Council.

Louis remains highly active in his own local community as founding President of Burrinja, a vibrant community cultural centre. Burrinja’s aim is to build community through arts and has gained international renown.

Louis and his wife Barb still live in Sassafras, where they run a small consulting and design company. Their current focus is on strategic business planning, the production of sustainable business transformations and helping new companies off the ground. Louis was the founding director of Yarra Ranges Enterprise Centres, a business incubator which assists micro businesses and start-ups in the Warburton and Upwey areas to grow into ecologically and environmentally sustainable companies. He has an MBA from RMIT, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has extensive business experience from starting up high-tech companies through to listing on the Australian Stock Market. He was a national finalist in the 2004 Yellow Pages Business Ideas Awards.

Louis Delacretaz advocates the abolition of old growth logging, the protection of Victoria's wetlands, halting the proliferation of stand-alone and commercial developments in scenic coastal and rural areas, and the creation of a regional policy which links infrastructure with economic policy in order to bring sustainable jobs out into the region. “This is an area of immense natural resources and great natural beauty. Instead of using up these assets, we can create new wealth and jobs by protecting environmental assets, innovative agriculture and environmental businesses.”

Louis Delacretaz is the Victorian Greens' spokesperson for IT, Climate Change, the Snowy Hydro, Biodiversity, Land use Planning and Local Government.

Contact Louis on 0407 300 188 or send an e-mail to louisdelacretaz@vic.greens.org.au, You can also visit his website at www.louisdelacretaz.com

The Eastern Victoria Region covers an area from Warburton and Omeo in the north to the south-east coast in the south, and from Portsea, Beaconsfield, Belgrave, Lilydale, Wonga Park and Coldstream in the west to the New South Wales border in the east.

For more information on the new electoral system for the Upper House, visit the Victorian Electoral Commission's website: http://www.vec.vic.gov.au

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