THE PRIORITIES
As a councillor, I'll work collaboratively with my fellow councillors and the city to address the issues that matter most to our community. If elected, for the four years of my terms, I will try my best to advocate for the following:
Safe & Accessible Transportation
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Improved pedestrian safety with increased foot and bike paths including linking, upgrading, and creating footpaths in Banjup and on Berrigan Drive, Hammond Road, Wattleup Road, Gibbs Roads, and Russell Road; as highlighted in the Bicycle and Walking Network Plan Community Feedback Survey.
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The City to create a Transport and Accessibility Advocacy Plan to build on the existing Integrated Transport Strategy 2020-2030, and heavily pressure and work with the Western Australian State Government to improve the access to and for Cockburn such as increasing bus accessibility and frequency, and creating a transport link between Fremantle and Cockburn.
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The City to pursue a feasibility study into increased drainage for local roads to reduce long term road maintenance costs.
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Upgrades of roads including:
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An investigation into the feasibility of the construction of both phase 1 and phase 2 of Hammond Road duplication at the same time.
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Needs analysis of Gibbs and Lyon road intersection and roads regarding additional upgrades to prevent traffic congestion and road drainage to prevent overflow from the wetlands.
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Advocacy for State Government support for upgrades to the Lyon Road and Rowley Road intersection.
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Investigation into the implementation of a traffic calming device at Atwell College, on Brenchley Drive.
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Investigation into the implementation of speed calming devices on Wentworth Parade and Tapper Road
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Advocate for a feasibility study into the pedestrian bridges to connect Hammond park and Aubin grove through Gaebler road, and Success and Atwell through Bartram Road. This would work to convince the State government to work towards building these bridges, or towards the Council potentially building them with approval of the State Government.
Transparent, Clearer & Accessible Governance
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Decreasing the red tape for grant applications to allow for more immediate and effective spending for our community.
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Improvement of City staffing management and processes to provide faster response times to resident concerns and stronger services such as road maintenance and infrastructure.
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Increased communication surrounding council rate decisions prior to finalisation of budget to ensure resident understanding of why the decisions have been made/suggested and allowing for scrutinising of decisions.
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Having a calendar on the landing page of the city's website to allow for people to easily see what things they can have their say on and when they close.
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For key documents and forums, ensure information is available in a larger variety of languages to better reach our culturally and linguistically diverse community. (Currently our City's website is missing Tagalog translation which is one of the top 5 languages spoken in Cockburn, and, according to the 2021 census, 21% of East Ward's population speaks another language other than English at home. Hence, it is important to include in our key documents, forums, and the City's website).
Sports, Family, & Youth Engagement and Behaviour
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Investigation into staffing capacity of youth services to enable an understanding of gaps in staffing, management, or systems that are currently in place. This would allow for the city to provide more efficient outreach and services to a growing youth population, to prevent youth crime, to provide stronger academic support services, mental health support, and provide safe spaces for youth.
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The creation and implementation for a youth services action plan that directly addresses the feedback that was collected by the city from the 5th of March to the 7th of May 2024.
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Work alongside Police and Non-For-Profit organisations to develop and implement a youth crime action plan that addresses the causation behind behaviours rather than focussing on the crimes themselves.
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Work with community associations and p&c’s to create pop up activities in areas to provide events such as community forums to address community safety, arts events, or themed small scale family-focussed events.
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Investigating the feasibility of reintroducing a children's and families strategy to clearly define what needs to be done to address the priorities of families in Cockburn.
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State and Federal funding for upgrades to Wally Hagan. Ensuring that First Nations and environmental concerns, alongside community consultation are all addressed in the finalisation of design.
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Addressing the current issues surrounding Cockburn Arc including the water slides and the lack of specific accessible pool spaces for those with disabilities or mobility conditions.
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Ensuring that sporting facilities are fit for purpose, modern, and provide equal facilities for all genders.
Developments, Housing, & Cost of Living
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Investigate the introduction of a City ran short term rental licensing scheme to counteract plausible increases in short term housing as our city grows.
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An increase in the number of Community Batteries in association with the State Government and Energy Providers to reduce the cost of electricity and improve the reliability of our electricity grid for residents, such as the one that has recently been opened in Coogee.
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An investigation into and implementation of a council increase of differential general rates to prevent land banking and undeveloped or vacant lots / sites.
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Investigate incentive schemes or changes to local planning policies to encourage energy efficient planning to decrease the energy costs for residents in newer developments.
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Extension of community consultation duration to at least 3 weeks, and not over school holidays, to ensure that a larger number of residents have the opportunity to have their say in projects.
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Creation of a council PFAS strategy which focuses on how the City can support residents in affected areas and advocate for State government action to address the affected residents, specifically those in Jandakot.
Environmental Protection and Growth
(Aligning with the Climate Change Strategy 2020-2030):
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The implementation of native & diverse tiny forests within newer suburbs and suburbs with lower tree canopy percentage especially in road islands and curbsides, by using the miyawaki method.
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Development of a community-led Wildlife Conservation Plan which would include turtle and black cockatoo population preservation, and fox and feral predator control. This would build on the already existing Black Cockatoo Conservation Action Plan.
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Ensuring that existing canopy is protected through following the WALGA Model Local Planning Policy Tree Retention.
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Investigating the use of waste product to patch potholes.
Supporting Local Businesses
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The creation of a small business support plan that is made in collaboration with local small businesses to outline everything that is being done, what is working well, and what needs to be improved on. It would also include how the City could support businesses who are being affected by newer developments.
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Feasibility study into the creation of a shop cockburn campaign and website, like City of Fremantle’s and City of Rockingham’s buy local campaigns. This would advertise local businesses in Cockburn and encourage people to buy from Cockburn’s many local businesses.
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An update to the Cockburn City Council Procurement Policy to ensure that the council and council employees are sourcing from local businesses, primarily small businesses, when applicable.