Candidates have final say as countdown begins for tomorrow’s Waverley local government election
MORE than 45,000 people will hit the polls this Saturday to vote for their preferred candidate vying for a spot on Waverley Council in the local government election.
Wentworth Courier
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MORE than 45,000 people will hit the polls this Saturday to vote for their preferred candidate vying for a spot on Waverley Council in the local government election.
Those who don’t will be fined $55.
The Wentworth Courier has given each party a final say to outline their policies and the issues they believe voters need to decide upon ahead of the long-awaited showdown.
The Liberal team is being led by incumbent Mayor Sally Betts who on Tuesday was diagnosed with stage two cancer in both breasts.
But the veteran politician, who has been mayor since 2012, has bravely vowed to contest the election and beat the disease.
Cr Betts is among thirty-seven candidates standing for Waverley Council’s four wards tomorrow.
The Liberal and Labor parties have nominated three candidates each for every ward, as have the Greens except for Hunter ward.
Three independent candidates will stand for Hunter and one for Lawson but none for Bondi or Waverley.
Labor councillor Ingrid Strewe and Liberal councillor Joy Clayton will not stand again this year.
LIBERALS
Resident’s main concerns relate to the financial sustainability of council.
They believe a council should use their rates wisely and not make unfunded promises.
(Also) no reduction of council’s existing services; council continuing to reduce infrastructure backlog; building new and maintaining existing playgrounds, sporting facilities, footpaths and parks; building on Liberal environmental initiatives such as stormwater harvesting and solar panels.
Residents’ main concerns are about traffic, parking and rubbish.
Congestion is a big issue, especially Bondi Rd. Our People Movement & Places report is the beginning of the discussion as no decisions have been made yet.
Residents hated the old draconian Labor policies of reducing car parking everywhere and want more off-street parking. Residents value changes which increase car parking in multi-unit buildings, reduce parking meter charges over winter and provide opportunity for off-street parking space.
Residents also can’t wait for the new, recently adopted Liberal plan to just ‘pick up’ dumped rubbish, rather than trying to find the culprit.
The general feeling is that council is improving dramatically and listening to the community.
LABOR
Councillors receive many complaints about dumped rubbish, parking, traffic and over-development and the lack of maintenance of our parks, roads and footpaths.
Yet the current council neglects these, preferring to pursue plans to commercialise the Bondi Pavilion, and up-zone Bondi Rd and the bus depot for large-scale re-development.
It’s time for a better council, one that listens and believes in open, transparent processes. A council that respects our diverse community, promotes harmony and gets the basic jobs done.
We need quick dumped rubbish collection and better maintenance.
When elected we will assign council “Place Managers” to review our streets, parks and laneways for daily action.
We need a brake on over-development in our densely-populated suburbs.
We will support the community and protect their neighbourhoods.
We need a new approach to parking where residents come first.
We will introduce 15 minute free parking spots in metered zones, free residents’ beach parking, first-hour free parking at Eastgate and turn off all meters in Bondi Junction and Bondi Beach in the evenings year round.
We need better buses. We will prioritise bus movement through Hall and O’Brien streets, Hardy, Murriverie and Mitchell Sts, and Bondi Rd.
We need a progressive vision of the future with Bondi Junction Library re-created as a knowledge centre and the Bondi Pavilion re-born as a community/cultural centre.
Our team has the experience and the capacity to deliver on these commitments and more.
GREENS
Greens have a bold vision for planning in urban environments.
We want human-scale development and green open spaces with liveable local areas that we will be proud to hand to our grandkids.
We urgently need to make plans for our changing climate and Greens on council will actively support renewable energy to deliver emissions reductions by supporting healthy transport options of cycling and walking, and plan ways to reduce traffic congestion.
Local democracy is vital and we will campaign for live streaming of council meetings to ensure open and transparent decision making which supports community interests — not developer greed.
We will work with the local residents to ensure an appropriate renovation of Bondi Pavilion so it remains a vibrant arts and cultural centre, not a privatised function centre.
We don’t need the Liberals’ $45 million plan for the Bondi Pavilion which has no business case and continues to be against the clear wishes of Waverley residents.
It’s time we put the brakes on inappropriate overdevelopment that fails to take into account impacts on infrastructure, schools, transport, open space, heritage and community services.
We want planning decisions returned to local councils not unaccountable, unelected panels.
We will continue to support Waverley Council as a standalone council.
The Greens on council will be independent of vested interests and best placed to represent community views in decision making.
POLLING PLACES
To check what ward you are in and for a list of polling places, click here.
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