Key Issues: Restoring Fairness, Trust, and Pride.
I feel so lucky to live in the best neighbourhood in the best city and I'll fight to keep it like that forever.
As your local representative, I want to focus on real issues that affect real people - the residents, businesses, ratepayers and workers in Collingwood.
My approach is consultative, research and evidence-based. I'm an active listener, balanced, open-minded, progressive and future-focused. Here's what's currently on my mind:​
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My Guiding Principles
Fairness
I believe that our councillors should be representing the will of the people of Yarra in a balanced and objective way. For too long it has been a place for political party agendas and point scoring, undermining the role of local councils.
When considering initiatives, motions and decisions to be made, I aim to look at these through the lens of what's objectively fair for residents and ratepayers.
Common sense factors such as opportunity value, societal, cultural and environmental impact and best use of budget will remain paramount in my decision-making.
I will also proactively seek views from diverse voices and advance accessibility measures to enable all stakeholders from all sides have equal agency and weighting in providing details, data, expertise and a lived experience understanding to help with council decisions. ​​
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It is so important to me to know that the people most affected by change have been fairly seen, heard and represented in our Council.
Trust
​​The Greens-dominated council has not been working well leading to infighting and the controversial intervention of a Municipal Monitor, whose report you can read here.
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Trust can only be earned on basic tenets of proactive and respectful engagement and listening.
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If elected, I will uphold these principles by hosting and posting regular and accessible community forums, primers and updates about Council progress with community.
I want to build a safe, ongoing dialogue with Collingwood where we are able to share ideas with respect and are transparent about how we can enact the changes we seek.
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Pride
While I identify as a proud, queer, culturally and linguistically diverse, person of colour - as I navigate the wide world, it's not uncommon for me to have to code-switch or downplay parts of my identity as a form of self-preservation against those who would seek to attack me for being different.
I want to see Collingwood and the surrounding wards live up to its potential as being the safest suburb for people to practice and celebrate the different parts of their culture and identity in peace and in harmony without fear of judgement and hate.
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I would love for everyone to feel that same sense of "pride" in their community that I do when I move about the neighbourhood and realise how good we have it. ​​
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I always want our residents to feel that Council has their back and is working for them, not against them. ​​​​​​​ I want our community to be proud of all of us, living and working together.
Key Issues & Initiatives
1. Better Value for Residents & Ratepayers
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Review and address Council's financial performance, pertaining to resource efficiency, value from service and return on investment.
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No more new developments to be approved without adequate car parking, bike-racks and green space allocations.
2. Restore Trust in Council
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Reinstate ​Council meeting regularity and the safe return of in-person community participation and public question time.
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Investigate the planning permit review process to enable a fairer, more respectful, and transparent community consultation and right of appeal.
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Proper community consultation - not political party gatekeeping of information.
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A refocus on programs and projects that amount to real action on climate change.
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Reduce the revolving door of mayors!
3. Save Public Housing
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Support a council-led movement to stop the demolition of public housing in Yarra.
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Revisit highly feasible proposals to build more Social Housing in Collingwood for seniors, women and young families (which the Greens voted against).
4. Keeping our Streets Clean
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Clean up our streets through re-invigorated rapid response units to contend with street dumping, overflowing rubbish and graffiti and tag removal in popular hotspots and public spaces.
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Explore council-funding of deterrence strategies to stop petty crime, illegal dumping and tagging.
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Review the outrageous decision to stop paying for road cleaning!
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Establish more accessible express recycling and container deposit drop-off points.
5. More Green Spaces for Collingwood
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Championing for more funding to develop and address Collingwood's lack of accessible, public, outdoor "green spaces" for workers, residents and families (and dogs!).
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Reviewing procurement decision-making and community engagement for parks and playground upgrades. No more expensive, sad parks!
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Plant more trees instead of removing them in heritage overlay areas.
6. Prioritise Pedestrian Safety & Accessibility
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A review of eScooter and eBike regulation, including designated parking spaces and provisions for accessibility and pedestrian safety.
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Introduce a safety impact study on the feasibility of establishing a Johnston Street bike lane.
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Introduce another wombat pedestrian crossing to the corner of Stanley and Wellington Street.
7. Feeling Pride in Our Community
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Uphold the protection of historical and heritage sites in our neighbourhoods
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Bring back the Gertrude Street Light Projection Festival.
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Developing a local and emerging artist incubator program and activating underutilised art spaces.
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Fund Rainbow Tick accreditation for community health services.
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Funding for accessible and affirming cultural events to represent and celebrate our diverse community.
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Secure Collingwood's reputation for the safest place to express queer identity.
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8. Scrap the Bin Tax.
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Rollback the 30% hike in rubbish removal rates.
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Invest in educating the community on responsible recycling and waste disposal in Yarra.
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Initiate a community consultation and transparent research program into developing a Better Bin System for Yarra, including soft-plastic recycling.​
9. Fairer, More Accessible Parking & Transport
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Fairer and accessible public parking for residents and temporary visitors to our neighbourhood.
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Block the removal of angled parking, especially in zones where parking is already scarce.
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Lobbying the State Government for an extension of the Free Tram Zone for the 86, 96 and 11 trams.
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Push harder for accessible tram and bus stops.
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Improve safety for car-sharing access in the Peel Street, Johnston St and Smith St Precincts.
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