Are you a member of a political party, political group, or community advocacy group? (eg; Labor, Liberal, Greens, Socialist, My Place, Angry Victorians, Better West, environment groups, etc)
I am a member of the Labor party, running as an independent. I am involved with RunForIt, who support young people running for local government. I work for the United Workers Union, and am getting involved in the HomeTime campaign with Melbourne City Mission.
What is the most important issue facing your electorate?
Neglect from the current local government has seen the CBD of Footscray fall derelict, footpaths across the municipality are in disrepair negatively impacting accessibility, and a lack of clear vision from the Maribyrnong Council leaves no actionable strategy to revitalise Footscray, improve services, or advocate for additional support from other branches of government around the many social issues affecting constituents.
Should/how can Council support local businesses?
Council should support local businesses by focusing on well maintained amenities, good roads and footpaths, cleanliness and beautification. This in turn draws foot traffic and provides a safe and beautiful urban centre, to attract and retain customers. Additionally it is part of my platform to provide affected businesses free graffiti cleanup kits, to assist with beautification and maintenance of the street-scape.
Should/how can Council support local creatives and industries?
Council should invest in local artists allowing them to thrive. We must protect what we already have, currently the Footscray Community Arts Centre is not properly funded, and I am committed to adequately funding the Arts Centre. Footscray’s urban centre is home to countless derelict sites, I believe council should contract local artists to produce murals, which in turn will transform the vacant buildings and the CBD.
Should/how can Council help alleviate the impact of climate extremes on local communities and ecosystems?
Council must prioritise native biodiversity. I am committed to planting more native trees, and gradually replacing non natives. I will push to make planting on nature strips more accessible for residents, by providing free native plants annually. I also wish to utilise some of our countless vacant properties for parks and community gardens. I will push for the adoption of an urban agriculture strategy, with a focus on growing more food, more sustainably in our urban centres.
Should/how can Council help alleviate cost of living and homelessness?
As someone who after leaving home at 15 has experienced youth homelessness, I am committed to transforming the role Maribyrnong City Council plays in housing. I intend to fight for the use of vacant properties to provide housing. I will fiercely advocate to the state government for further investment in specialised housing within our municipality, for young people, persons escaping domestic violence, those experiencing alcohol and other drug issues, and so on. I will always prioritise affordable development, as opposed to the unaffordable and poorly planned Josephs Rd precinct high rise buildings. I will push for a pet registration fee waiver for concession card holders. An urban agriculture strategy to which I am committed, will see more community gardens, allowing residents to grow more food for free.
What should Council stop spending money on?
Whilst the Footscray Community Arts Centre is not properly funded. Maribyrnong City Council looks to build an entirely new performing arts centre, as part of the Library Redevelopment Project. Whilst I fully support redevelopment of the Library itself, I believe we must first protect the arts spaces we already have. I don’t believe the millions of dollars in construction and ongoing costs are justified until Council is in a fiscal position to afford such a development in addition to a fully funded Footscray Community Arts Centre.
Should the public be allowed to ask live, unscripted questions of councillors during council meetings?
I categorically support questions in person and without notice. If elected I am committed to strengthening local democracy by allowing questions in person, and questions without notice during public question time.
Can you please provide a short personal statement detailing what your priorities are if elected, and what your vision for your electorate looks like.
Leaving home at 15 the following years were accompanied by consistently unpleasant experiences with a range of government affected services, things like Centrelink, public housing and so on. I went on to become one of 14,000 renters in the city of Maribyrnong. All these experiences have driven a passion to make change and a deeper passion for social justice.
I have learnt the importance of a strong community with great community infrastructure. As a non-binary person and someone who has accessed gender affirming health care following a 2-year waitlist, I have experienced how crucial it is to provide better services in the west. I am committed to fiercely advocating for increased access to early childhood education, council run aged care, and Queer healthcare in the West.
Importantly I have seen the neglect which plagues Footscray’s CBD, and whilst working people struggle to find suitable housing, Footscray and the whole of Maribyrnong house more than 4000 vacant properties. For people with mobility issues the footpaths are inaccessible and even dangerous. During a climate crisis when all branches of government need to do more, the Western suburbs are home to the lowest tree canopy cover in Melbourne, and our existing pockets of native biodiversity are threatened by a lack of consideration and consultation from the current council.
This is why I plan to plant more native trees promoting biodiversity, repair and upgrade footpaths, and revitalise Footscray’s CBD.
I believe Footscray and the City of Maribyrnong are beautiful places, home to incredible communities, whilst the current council has neglected the local government area, there is significant potential for change. I want to build a stronger community, with reliable services and an active local government.
