"I'm asking for your support and trust, to help this amazing city become one we all can be proud of"
My plan for our community.
Community Safety
One issue keeps being mentioned when I chat with the residents of East Ward is community safety. Our community is concerned about the increase of crime, break ins, drug dealing and violent behaviour. As well as hoons and the unlawful riding trail bikes on the streets.
Residents feel unsafe in public places, especially at night.
I believe we need to work with key stakeholders to increase a Police presence. Crack down on anti-social behaviour and hooning.
The city also needs to improve street/footpath lighting and install traffic calming devices.
I also believe the COM needs to invest in a mobile CCTV unit to help target known anti-social hotspots.
Essentially our residents deserve a safe community.
Parks and Reserves
Take a drive around Mandurah and you'll notice a distinct difference in the quality of the parks and reserves compared to what we have in suburbs like Greenfields, Coodanup and Dudley Park. The lack of facilities in the East Ward is very obvious.
But we don't have to be building skateparks in every park in every suburb......although one in Greenfields would be nice! We just have to improve and modernise the ones we have by add things like seating, shade, BBQ's or even a set of goals. We need to ensure that elderly and disabled are also catered for.
Environment
We need to protect and maintain our waterways and wetlands, they are the heart of our amazing city. And as a city we should be looking to secure more funding to do so.
Given the scale of our waterways I was amazed to read that Mandurah doesn't have it's own wildlife officers. I believe we also need to campaign our government for a dedicated wildlife officer in our region.
Rates
As a father of two young children, I understand the financial pressure families are under these days.
I believe that if increases to our rates are necessary to help with the maintenance and progression of our city, they need to be sensible and sustainable.
Community Engagement
Too often I've heard that our councillors aren't active enough in our community. Plenty of people have said that they never hear from them and are rarely involved in any discussions about what affects their community.
As a local representative, I plan to stay connected with the community and engage with residents as much as possible. I believe that there needs to more a community involvement with the decisions that affect them.
Roads and traffic controls
We need to invest in traffic studies on problem streets to address hooning and other issues on our roads. We need to better manage traffic on the roads around schools and retirement homes.
Also where possible improve parking around those areas, especially in Greenfields and Riverside Gardens
Economic development & employment
We need to continue the active promotion of Mandurah as a 'major regional city' and aim to attract more big businesses or government departments to relocate to our city.
We need to create more diverse employment opportunities in our city. Whilst our tourism industry is 'world class' it can't be the only industry we rely on to take the city forward.
There’s a real opportunity to create a “health hub” on Lakes Road, which will draw much needed services to Mandurah and cater to our increasing population.
Lakes Road Medical precinct
With a growing population, our health services need to improve. I support the idea of creating a "medical precinct" located nearby to the Peel Health Campus on Lakes Road.
I believe the creation of such a precinct will help attract the medical services we require in Mandurah.