What do you love about the Tweed region?
The Tweed is a very special place. I love that we have World Heritage status, are the most biodiverse region in NSW and the third most biodiverse in Australia. I love living in an ancient caldera with our environment types ranging from old growth rain forest to our amazing coastal environment that extends out into the sea. We have whales passing regularly, herds of resident dolphins, koalas and many, many other creatures who share our home. I also love the strong sense of community I have always found here.
Why are you putting your hand up for the Tweed Council?.
My first term in Council gave me important background, skills and experience and I feel I am just getting started! I am proud of the many initiatives I have achieved and I would like to have the privilege of continuing to work on these initiatives and to take on many more.
Some of my successful Notices of Motion include funding and staffing the Cool Towns strategy for heat mitigation and native habitat, a new roadside weed team, textile recycling (about to begin), gas divestment within council facilities, a refugee welcome package, an anti-ageist campaign, lobbying for local control of short term accommodation and community input into our Climate Change Action Plan (watch for the Climate Leaders Summit to come in November).
I am standing again for Council to continue to work on such initiatives and to act on our huge responsibility to protect our environment and to urgently address our housing and homelessness crisis.
What relevant skills or experience do you bring to the position?
I gained important experience during my first term and achieved much that I am proud of. Additionally, having had a career as a secondary school teacher, academic and small business owner, I am experienced in consultation and cooperation with a wide range of people. My academic work has also given me extensive research skills with which to address the broad range of important issues that come to Council.
How would you address the local housing crisis?
The Affordable Housing Strategy recently developed by our Council with the help of independent consultants (see: https://www.yoursaytweed.com.au/affordablehousing) has outlined detailed strategies to address the crisis. For example these include setting measurable targets, allocating dedicated staff to the issue and partnering with the state and non profit organisations to set up public housing on Council or state owned land. I support these strategies.
Additionally, I and several councillors, have been consulting with the state government on use of the old Greenhills Aged Care facility in Murwillumbah and the old Tweed Hospital site for affordable housing and support for homeless people. I will continue to lobby the government on local control of short term housing, ending of landbanking to open up extensive and already approved housing lots and inclusion in developments of build-to-rent premises in perpetuity (not for only 15 years).
Do you think there is a role for local councillors beyond roads, rates and rubbish? If so, what is it?
Our Council provides something like 52 services. The idea that a Council is dealing only with roads, rates and rubbish belongs in the past. A councillor’s role is to listen to and serve community interests on all the areas Council is responsible for. In addition to roads, rates and resource recovery, this includes many areas such as environmental protection, libraries, swimming pools and development applications, to name a few.
There are over 20,000 approvals in place for residential and business development lots yet there is significant delay in activating these sites. What will you do to change that if you are elected?
I will continue to lobby the state government regarding legacy developments and land banking.
How do you balance the pressure of more people and the need to protect the environment which is attracting the people?
It’s about prioritising and actually taking the steps to protect the environment that we all love. This is not impossible to do if the needs of the environment are taken seriously and funded. Singapore, for example, has millions of people living in a small space but they have implemented a biophyllic urban design which includes priority for nature. As a result they are having species return. I look forward to us doing do the same here! One thing this certainly entails is significantly increased government resourcing at all levels for control of the top three threats to biodiversity: habitat loss, weeds and feral animals. But at local council level there is much we can do. We can begin by strengthening the underpinning environmental protection. For example, at present a tree in Tweed Shire needs to be 0.8 of a metre in diameter at breast height to be ‘prescribed’ (protected). In some shires, protection occurs for a tree with diameter as low as 0.3 of a metre! I will continue to advocate for such changes in the Tweed.
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