Thanks for your welcome

I WOULD like to thank Windermere Ward residents, friends and family for their support and encouragement since I successfully became a Councillor following the VEC countback process on Wednesday 28 June. I would also like to thank Deputy Mayor Aitken for his welcome in a previous Geelong Times column (July 7 edition).

I am excited to be representing Windermere Ward, after living in Norlane for four-and-a-half years before moving to Corio at the start of 2023. I have also been working in the area, in the field of community mental health, for the past nine months.

I am very invested in improving overall quality of life for all residents, listening to your ideas, and helping you to build campaigns to win better outcomes. This is why I think it is critical to hear your voices at the monthly ward meetings I want to initiate and rotate around the ward. The first of these was held in Labuan Square in Norlane last Monday. I look forward to seeing and hearing from more of you at our upcoming meetings.

In 2020, I ran as a Socialist Alliance endorsed candidate on a simple platform of three key commitments. Firstly, I said that councils should provide good quality, accessible services and that I would oppose any attempts to contract out or privatise council services. We need a Council that invests in its community and in sustainable, secure jobs with good pay and conditions.

I also stated that I wanted to be part of a Council that takes action on climate change. While there has been some good work done by Council and its community advisory groups, it is important to ensure that strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change are funded and properly resourced.

Lastly, I wanted to see a Council that would demand more from state and federal governments. We need our local leaders to advocate on the community’s behalf to all levels of government for public housing, mental health, childcare services and the expansion of community health services, as well as ensuring that local services and amenities are directly provided.

I still stand by these commitments today. With only one vote on Council, I can’t promise that I will be able to achieve all of these outcomes, but I can promise to campaign for them and to support all residents, councillors and council officers who also see these issues as critical.

In the recent campaign against elements of the Council’s 2023-24 budget, it was heartening to see that councillors were responsive to community action and mobilisation. The Council did maintain the required funding for lifeguard services and increased funds to prevent library and partial pool closures.

That’s why I want to help you, the residents, become more proactive. I encourage you to submit your questions to Council, turn up to Council meetings, send in your petitions and mobilise on the issues you care about. This is how we will create meaningful and lasting change to achieve a clever and creative future for the Greater Geelong region.

Cr Sarah Hathway