HAVING moved back to her home town of Anglesea from Melbourne, Issy Mildenhall has focused her attention on the Surf Coast Shire council election.<\/p>\n
Studying a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University with a minor in Indigenous Studies, the 23-year-old said her lecturers had inspired her to engage in community issues.<\/p>\n
“They encouraged me to localise a lot of my political focus, so when I moved back here, I decided I wanted to know what’s going on in the town that I grew up in.<\/p>\n
“I’ve always been interested in social justice issues, but this is the first time I’ve really tried to understand local politics in Anglesea.”<\/p>\n
Voting for the first time in Anglesea Ward, Ms Mildenhall has reached out to candidates hoping to understand their plans for the area.<\/p>\n
She said the instalment of an Indigenous Affairs Officer and the development of a Reconciliation Action Plan in the Surf Coast Shire was at the top of her list of priorities for her local area.<\/p>\n
Since its inception in 2016, the Aboriginal and Local Government Action Plan has been encouraging councils across the state to create dedicated roles for Indigenous issues; to promote relationships between council and Aboriginal communities; and to engage those communities in decision-making processes.<\/p>\n
In April, the City of Greater Geelong revealed its first Reconciliation Action Plan, working closely with members of Wadawurrung country, whose traditional land also covers the Surf Coast Shire.<\/p>\n
Addressing climate change is another issue Ms Midenhall said she feels strongly about, as well as affordable housing for the Surf Coast’s youth.<\/p>\n
“I’ve talked to people in hospitality that haven’t been able to get workers to come down because young people can’t find houses to rent.”<\/p>\n
The Surf Coast Shire council officially declared a climate emergency at a meeting in August 2019, following the circulation of petition that garnered more than 1,000 signatures.<\/p>\n
With council election voting closing on Friday last week, Ms Midenhall said she hoped her vote would contribute to progress in her local area.<\/p>\n
“I think young people want to see leadership on those kinds of issues that goes beyond political declarations.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HAVING moved back to her home town of Anglesea from Melbourne, Issy Mildenhall has focused her attention on the Surf Coast Shire council election. Studying a Bachelor of Arts at Victoria University with a minor in Indigenous Studies, the 23-year-old said her lecturers had inspired her to engage in community issues. “They encouraged me to […]<\/p>\n