The City of Stirling is the largest local government in Western Australia by population, and is one of the most multicultural by country of birth and languages spoken in additional to English.
Our economy includes major industry in Osborne Park, major tourism destinations like Scarborough Beach, 25,000 small businesses and one of the largest shopping complexes in Western Australia now that the $800 million redevelopment of Karrinyup Shops is complete, doubling its original size.
Coastal living plays a big role
There has barely been a day in my life that hasn’t started at the beach, so I have a particular affinity with the City’s coastline and I am very eager to see it improved and preserved for future generations.
I was first elected as a City of Stirling Councillor for the Coastal Ward in 2015, and was elected as Mayor by my fellow Councillors in October 2017 then re-elected as the City’s first popularly elected Mayor in 2019.
I’ve always loved getting involved in local community groups and sporting clubs, and as Mayor really enjoy connecting with people and discussing local issues. I’m passionate about community service and have been a member of Scarboro SLSC throughout my whole life.
I am very lucky to have recently stepped back from my other role with Surf Lifesaving Western Australia which now allows me to focus solely on the Mayoral role for the City.
I love serving my local community through Surf Lifesaving at the Scarboro SLSC,
Covid a Big Challenge
I think the biggest challenge over the last two years for all local governments is to adapt how we do things to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this has been in cutting down red tape to improve business opportunities, or complying with proof of vaccination requirements, we’ve had to adapt and innovate to continue delivering through this challenging time.
The City of Stirling’s main strategic projects have been the investment in infrastructure surround the Stirling City Centre Project, including over $160 million in road works to the Stephenson Avenue Extension Project and the progression of our $2 million business case into Trackless Trams.
These two projects represent the backbone of more than a decade of planning that will see us secure our position as Perth’s second CBD.
Successful Trackless Tram request
The success of our request for Commonwealth funding for a business study into Trackless Tram has been one of the most exciting developments of the last few years, as it really is a big, bold vision for the City which would represent a first for a local government, if not for the whole of Australia then certainly for Western Australia.
What makes a successful councillor and dealing with hours
I think to be a successful Councillor you have to be actively involved and interested in the progress of your local community, and the best part of the job is being able to make a real difference whether that be fixing local problems or seeing big projects finalised.
The most challenging part is certainly the hours, which isn’t really well understood. There is rarely a night that I’m not representing the City at an event, or attending meetings and committees, but that is part of the role and certainly easier for me given I don’t have a young family with kids waiting for me to come home.
What’s next?
I would love to see the Stirling City Centre project really launch forward over the next few years, after so many years of planning and preparing. I really do feel like we are now at the proverbial ‘pointy’ end of the projects, which Stephenson Avenue Phase Two beginning this year, and a Federal Election coming up in May where we will be advocating for significant investments in Stirling’s infrastructure.
