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Over Development
Over development and excessive approval of multi-storey dwellings in our residential areas - this has been relentless and at a drastic pace for a number of years. We need to review the business cases, determine who is approving these developments and why and the mechanism for effective objection. With increases to the rate of property subdivision and approval comes drastic increases to our population, yet there has been no increase to services and supports, meaning more people sharing already stretched services and resources. Police, hospitals, emergency services, schools and outreach. Increases to the population needs to be matched with services, otherwise we see a decline in services for all residents, a poorer standard of living and a decline in health. Your council member MUST champion our causes and not accept what they know is not to the benefit of the residents.
Graffiti
Graffiti - it's becoming more and more apparent. Concerningly large amounts of graffiti is now on residential fences, business frontages and community amenities. Not only do we need to remove it immediately, we also need to identify the root cause and address that. This feeds into one of my reasons for standing, which is youth disconnection, school refusal and mental health concerns. We have a responsibility to each other, and we cannot turn a blind eye to what grafitti represents. I want to work with the local leaders in this area to connect our youth to local mentors to provide immediate and impactful connection to stop anti-social behaviour.
Roads
Our roads and footpaths are unsafe with little if any maintenance and no immediate repair. Poor quality surfaces are a safety hazard, for road users and pedestrians. Those with additional physical needs are most at risk, required to navigate potholes, uneven paths and decaying surfaces. We need council to be accountable for ALL roads and paths, including those managed by VicRoads. If the residents are impacted, the council is responsible. Let's fix these problems without excuses.
Rates
Property rates are voted by council to increase every year, and we are not receiving value for money. Services and service quality are reduced and with property towers and residential overdevelopment there are more rate payers contributing to the rate pool than ever. Why then are our rates going up and what can be done to acquire funds from external parties to cover that cost burden, instead of charging residents more? Being a successful councellor means effectively improving services and reducing costs. As a business owner of 25+ years I know we need to take a fresh look at costs and actively work to identify and aggressively eliminate wastage and increase income from sources other than ratepayers.
Youth
I'm concerned about our youth and their wellbeing. They went through the lockdown years and we need to address the consequences of that. Mental health decline, school attendance decline, self esteem decline and a lack of hope for a happy and independent future. It breaks my heart that families are suffering, as when one suffers the whole family is impacted, and I know there is some excellent work undertaken already in the community. Connecting those in need to immediate help, not necessarily through formal services but with those in the community who can help them NOW, when they need it. Lived experience workers, our experienced older residents and other mentors and helpers who can step in to provide valuable care and support to our youth and their families. Let's turn to each other to find ways to give our youth, and their families, a chance to heal and have a great future.
Loss of Open Spaces
I am very concerned about neighbouring wards losing open spaces to state government projects, including local "Activity Centres" as part of Victoria's Housing Statement, focusing on excessive and rushed housing development which will impact our natural environment, habitat, community open spaces and as a by-product, our standard of living.
An ABC article from August this year stated, "local residents in Melbourne's east suffer amid Box Hills painful transformation", with horrified residents saying everywhere they look is relentless construction, road closures, lack of parking, a reduction to open spaces, dust and noise. Homes and houses demolished, including an entire apartment building on Elland Ave that was less than 10 years old. There are large cranes everywhere nearby and in Box Hill, being the next ward across from ours, there will be 1700 homes & shopping centre precinct termed a "mini city". On the other side of our ward, the State Government is planning another similar change in Ringwood, (see Activity Centres link above).
Naturally our ward will not be immune to these significant transformations and we need to ensure we are NOT the next in line to lose our greenspaces and residential streets to mini-city planning approval and urban sprawl. I will proactively be seeking to identify impacts to us due to these radical changes on our doorstep.
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Small Business
Our small businesses have suffered through a cost of living crisis, leaving shops empty and family businesses closed, families without an income and business related debt. I feel for all those people who put their heart and soul into creating their dream, and as a councellor I will work with other businesses, councils and government services to attract business into our area and support services for our businesses, rejuvenating our small business sector. There is no reason we as a council cannot find ways to connect with the right supports to ride through economic downturn. I have been a small business owner, and I know the challenges and constant pressures to know when to keep going and when to step away. Let's work to stay open and grow, using those from perhaps further afield to learn what works, identifying opportunities and finding incentives to support each other.
I am committed to this community, I will work for our benefit, and as one of you, you can be sure anything I do will be with the intention to protect and serve our interests.
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