"Wollondilly and the Highlands residents certainly know what they want in their community, however more and more the State government is removing the voice of local councils and local people. We need someone dedicated to the local community not to party politics! "
I have too many great memories to list them all
- The construction of the All Abilities Playground at Warragamba.
- A master plan for many of our Parks and Recreational facilities and more such as Warragamba where as funding becomes available local groups have the opportunity to apply for grants.
- Money raised for various charities including Men's Health in Wollondilly where we raised over $5,000and an Anzac Memorial which stands proudly on Brownlow Hill. The memorial is looked after by our local rural fire brigade.
- A rail symposium was held at the Rail Museum where the guest speaker was Tim FisherAC. The auditorium was packed with groups such as the Lachlan Regional Transport Committee. The benefit of rail and the completion of the Maldon Dumbarton line were prime topics and everyone agreed these should be advocated for.
- The delivery of over 13,000 signatures telling the State Government that our koalas need protection. A huge box of signed papers were transported to Government House and registered. The most disappointing aspect was that when this was debated in parliament the discussion was closed down by the Liberals and the Greens didn’t even get a chance to speak.
- $17 Million through the City Deals process for a Liveability Fund was achieved through many meetings with 8 other Mayors who all thought because they had a bigger population then they would have a bigger slice of the pie. I argued that maybe it should be divided on area of land instead. A consensus was reached and we each had an equal share. I was the lead Mayor at the signing of the deal.
- Completion of the Destination Management Plan for tourism in Wollondilly took a long time and the changing of the LEP to allow diversification of our agricultural areas seemed to be always ‘imminent’. I am delighted that wedding events and some markets are now allowable.
- I am most proud of the way that Wollondilly Council come together, over the period when I was Mayor, to be effective and collegiate, working in the best interests of ratepayers.
During my time as Councillor and Mayor, I have witnessed first-hand the exponential pressures placed on councils by the State Government to deliver new housing. Recently with the current state government's new approach to zoning and development.
With the State Government seeming to be influenced by the lure of big development investment.
As Mayor and Councillor I was aware that Wollondilly was meeting and on track to exceed its quota and yet we still see huge open ended rezoning to accelerate development with unnecessary densities and no commitment to the infrastructure to support even half the numbers proposed. This is why you have heard me often say there is a tidal wave coming.
This can be stopped by government and should be stopped. If they listened to and represented the community they would stop it. The community want sustainable housing with the appropriate infrastructure
We need to stop, take a breath, and think about what direction we want to take and how to master plan that, for the benefit of all in Wollondilly. Not for the benefit of investors from another part of town or another country altogether.
Together we can put Wollondilly and the Southern Highlands first.
