Highlights and Thank You

People of our City are amazing. Over the past four years as Councillor I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with wonderful community members. So many people are contributing their time, energy, skills and funds towards the future of our neighbourhood.

Some of the high points have been:

• The Friends of McDougall Park, who get together to tidy, weed and manage a beautiful locality. This park is an oasis of peace, where a pair of black swans is  nesting right now.

• Lyndon Lewis, who has personally contributed very large sums towards environmental landscaping of the Canning River shoreline.
• Members of Neighbourhood Watch, who work tirelessly to make our suburbs safer. It has been my pleasure to chair some of their Council liaison meetings and to design their web site.
• The people of Como, who value their neighbours, trust each other and regularly turn out at our Tea in the Park events, and join conversation about our future.
• The crew at SERCUL, working every day to safeguard our rivers. I’ve learned a lot while representing the City at SERCUL and while chairing the Local Government Reference Group of Perth Region Natural Resources Management Group.
• The Heritage Society, who have such passionate and interesting members, working on historical, natural and artistic heritage of the City.
• Millennium Kids, who create the leaders of tomorrow, conscious of our world.
• Members of Perth Bushwalkers, for whom I’ve been the Treasurer, sharing appreciation of our rich natural diversity.
• SIDS Foundation, based in our City and achieving wonders for families across WA.
• The Library team at the City, who have created a wondrous space.

• The Staff and Councillors at the City of South Perth, who show how good a local Council can be.

I’ve also learned a lot while being on bodies such as the WA Local Government Standards Panel, consultation groups around transport, light rail and river management, the Local Chambers business group and quite a few others.

Thank you to all of these people, for allowing me to be part of what you do and to contribute my own pieces to your objectives. It has been a satisfying, positive and enjoyable four years.

What more can we do together? How can we all make a difference? What do you think? Comment below, or email me, and I’ll get your thoughts published here.

 

Trust and Economy of our City

Do we think enough about what makes our local economy work? Transport, housing, environment, community services and sense of place all get attention at Council level. But what do we need to do to build local businesses, jobs and economic connections?

Trust is the bit we take for granted and it is the core of what makes Australia work, as a community and as an economy. In many poor countries there exists a culture that says it’s OK to cheat someone who is not a family member. In some places cheating is even seen as a sign of clever business. Willingness to trust strangers is what puts Australia at the top of league tables charting economic strength. It’s also why I enjoy street food markets in Asia.

Our position on the trusting spectrum is what makes us different. Trust is so much a part of our life that we treat it like oxygen. We trust that our customers will pay us, that our land tile is secure, that our kids will learn useful skills and sound values at school. We trust our friends, our neighbours and strangers at the shop. Is this the key to developing local jobs and being more of the village community that many of us seek? Is trust an asset to be nurtured, one of which we are not aware?

While the mining economy powers ahead, should we do more to consciously build local economies and promote local jobs? Can we have more jobs near where we live? Do we have to treat our suburb like a dormitory that we leave every morning for work, and return to, for food and sleep? Can we build local business so we are more a part of the life in the veins of our community?

Can the large number of home and small-office consultancies be part of this. Will National Broadband allow businesses to be quite different to anything in our past. I already know people who work for big UK and USA businesses, while living in Perth, using the Internet to help them service opposite time zones. Will the development of one of the world’s biggest super-computers in Kent Street next year spur innovation? Could Mend’s Street be the centre for fashion retail in WA? Can services for education capitalise on the rapid growth of Curtin Uni?

At Council this week I commenced a formal conversation around how we can promote the City’s economy. We went on to include this topic in the CEO’s key performance indicators for 2012. My dream is that Council can do much more in this direction. We’ve already begun, with a vision for Canning Bridge and for the area between the Freeway and the Zoo. The new library has small rooms available for business start-ups and community groups. Manning Hub redevelopment includes a significant business rejuvenation. There is thought around a business component of funding heritage preservation and the Old Mill.

What structures, ideas, inspirations and changes can we promote? How can we make a difference? What do you think? Comment below, or email me, and I’ll get your thoughts published here.

Empty Seats on Council

Nominations for WA Local Council seats close on Thursday afternoon 8 September 2011. Does this matter to you?

A number of Councils around the State still have empty positions. Others have only one person nominating in many Wards. Sometimes this means a good person gets straight in without being distracted from their good works; other times it means that a less skilled person get to lead your community.

Do you care enough to make a difference?

If you are reflecting on how you might contribute to the City’s future, and what it takes to do it well, you might like to look into one of my questioning blogs by clicking here.

There are some interesting electoral profiles out there. I like to look at what a person has done already, before I look at their view of the future. Oh, and I hope they have such a thing as a view. My ideal candidate should have an active history, should care a lot about others, should have already done a lot for others, should be a good listener and should have a focus on what our City will be like in our grandkids’ time.

My ideal candidate might have some connection with politics, but must be able to bring their personal values to the Council Chamber, and leave their party allegiances outside. They really must be able to work together and, when necessary, to disagree agreeably. Oh, and quite a few, I hope, don’t fit the standard model of greying male. (There are enough of us already.)

Go on, like Ernie says, get out there.

Do you have something to add? Click on Comments below or just email me, to have it published here.