Logan’s newest councillor Natalie Willcocks pushes bus and roads

A full-time teacher will take four years’ leave to serve as a councillor in one of the state’s fastest-growing areas which covers the emerging estate at Flagstone.

Natalie Willcocks will take up a position with Logan City Council in Division 11.

LOGAN CITY Council’s newest councillor-elect is New Beith mum Natalie Willcocks.

She will join former councillors Lisa Bradley in Division 1, Laurie Koranski in Division 4 and Jon Raven in Division 5 in the new council headed by mayor elect Darren Power.

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Ms Willcocks, a mother of two, will put her teaching career on hold over the next four years.

With 71 per cent of the vote counted, she won half of the 10,066 formal votes counted, ousting Bryan Bartlett and Kathleen de Leon.

There were 15,396 people enrolled to vote in the division.

Ms Willcocks said it was too early to prioritise actions for the city with the first big event the swearing in ceremony which is expected late this week.

Some of the first issues the council will deal with will be drafting a budget and then deciding whether to uphold a recommendation from the Local Government Remuneration Commission for a 2 per cent pay rise for councillors.

Ms Willcocks said she would push for better infrastructure in her neighbourhood, including extending the bus service which currently only runs from Flagstone to Browns Plains Monday to Friday without night services on Thursday and Friday and no service on Saturday.

“Division 11 is often forgotten because it is such a fast-growing area and I hope to change that,” she said.

Ms Willcocks said she had been a teacher for 15 years, 10 of those in mainstream Logan high schools, and five at Flagstone State Community College.

Natalie Willcocks has won Logan City’s Division 11, which covers the fastest growing areas of Flagstone and New Beith.

For the past four years, she has worked with disengaged and disadvantaged young people and students who don’t fit within the main stream education system.

Ms Willcocks said she had also taken up the challenge to rectify the New Beith and Old Greenbank Road intersection and said it was unacceptable that Teviot Rd was the only road into and out of Greenbank.

“My reasons for running for council are because I want to make a difference in our community,” she said.

“Middle Rd, Teviot Rd, Springfield, Greenbank Arterial, Old Greenbank Rd – all of these roads are single lanes and are not adequate for the number of residents who live in our Division,” she said.

“We have more than 14,000 registered voters in our Division and this does not include children or those who are not registered to vote.

“However, the infrastructure improvements in our Division currently hasn’t matched the growth of the area.

“I know that I have the skills, integrity and honesty to provide our division with a voice in council and provide the residents with a transparent and accountable councillor.

“I believe one of my strengths is advocating and empowering people to make a difference in their lives.

“This strength comes from my teaching background. I am regarded among my peers as a dedicated teacher who goes above and beyond.”

While working full time, she has coached local netball teams, volunteered in the canteen for Jimboomba Netball and was the Founding President of the Greenbank Gators Swimming Club.