EDITOR’S NOTE – DECEMBER 2014

There’s a new voice in the west!

Welcome to The Westsider! I’m excited to present you with our first edition and hope you find plenty of enjoyment between these covers.

Melbourne’s western suburbs are as diverse as the collection of people who live in them, a place that cultures from all over the world call home. You don’t have to listen too carefully to notice that many languages are in use in our streets, shops and parks, and The Westsider will be a paper where people from all backgrounds can be heard – whether singularly or as one – words that resonate a spirit of inclusion, fairness and a celebration of diversity.

As a local publication and advocate of citizen journalism, the shape and direction of each edition will be determined by you, and whether you’d like to contribute a story, comment on a local issue or raise awareness about any matter important to you or those around you, I urge you to become involved in whichever way you see fit.

In our first issue we talk to one of the west’s most visible, yet anonymous artists, Baby Guerrilla, prominent Green MP Senator Colleen Hartland, and capturer of a fading west, “Westographer” Warren Kirk. Our series “A conversation with…” kicks off with a look into the world of top local chef Mark Briggs, and we introduce some of the sections that will become a staple of the paper going forward, featuring local news, events, activities and opinion. If all that leaves your head in a spin, the answers are near – our resident know-it-all Pete will solve your first world problems.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, each month will feature contributions from the community, and reading, editing and presenting these has proved a most enjoyable task in the lead up to our much anticipated debut.

So we will listen to the people of the west, and perhaps in time one of the voices in these pages will be yours.

Read it, share it, spread the word.

Derek Green
Managing Editor – The Westsider
email: editor@thewestsider.com.au