Committee re-elected at AGM

On Sunday, 21 July the TVC held its Annual General Meeting. All members of the executive team were re-elected unopposed:

• President - Ray Smith
• Vice President – Elliot Stein
• Treasurer – John Mebberson
• Secretary – Annette Jones
• Assistant Secretary – Tony Horneman
• Public Relations Officer – Stephen Le Bas

Meet the Candidates Forum

At the conclusion of the AGM a Meet the Candidates Forum was held to allow the community to get to know the candidates for the upcoming Council elections on 14 September. Each candidate outlined their background, skills and vision for Wollongong.

Mayoral candidates

• Cr. Tania Brown (Labor) – Grew up in Unanderra; Deputy Lord Mayor for 5 years; been working at UOW for 15 years; background in government; member of a number of committees; wants to deliver a customer focused Council, one that responds in an acceptable timeframe; noted a need for more footpaths, parks and playgrounds; stated due to lack of available land it is not appropriate to increase development in the northern suburbs.
• Cr.  John Dorahy (Liberals) – Grew up in Wollongong; Councillor for 13 years; Deputy Lord Mayor on 3 occasions; has a sporting background; works as General Manager in Sales; worked in the hospitality and club industry; relinquished his board membership on various clubs; wants to increase and improve the engagement with residents and business owners to understand the community challenges; wants to reinvigorate businesses and small villages, such as Thirroul; increase the number of footpaths; increase funding to sporting infrastructure to improve facilities for all genders.
• Jess Whittaker (Greens) – Grew up in Bulli before moving to Port Kembla; works as a Paramedic; wants to see Wollongong reach its full potential; need more investment in footpaths and cycleways; wants to increase the amount of affordable housing; wants to make Wollongong a vibrant place in which to live; hopes to ease cost of living pressures on residents by holding more Council events, making pools free and building more skate parks; wants to build more community gardens; continue to push for the removal of shark nets off our coastline.

Ward One candidates

• Cr. Richard Martin (Labor) – Moved to Wollongong 13 years ago; regularly attends the TVC, NIRAG and Neighbourhood forums; been working with Maryanne Stuart and TfNSW on an alternative route to and from Thirroul; successfully lobbied Council to apply to NSW Government to become part of a noise traffic study; wants to make sure that residents are looked after to minimise their risk of flooding and to educate people near waterways of their rights and responsibilities.
• Dan Hayes (Labor) – Worked as a Councillor for 7 years while living in Wagga Wagga; believes experience is important; is a psychologist working in suicide prevention; stated council needs to keep connected with the community and to look after footpaths, roads, libraries and rubbish removal.
• Cr. Cameron Walters (Liberals) – Lives in Helensburgh; pushed for and achieved installation of CCTV on Bald Hill; wants to increase parking availability in the city; identified the need to increase use of parkland; wants to increase funding from the State Government.
• Philip Clifford (Liberals) – Born and bred in Thirroul; attends TVC meetings; identified the need for more footpaths citing the example of Point Street Bulli which has waited 25 years for a footpath; wants to see improvement in flood mitigation, noting the need for clearance of retention basins and drains.
• Jess Whittaker (Greens) – Identified the need for safe streets for children; more cycleways and footpaths required; need to keep young people entertained, hence need for a skatepark; remains connected to the northern suburbs.
• Martin Cubby (Greens) – Grew up in Sydney and went to UOW; coaches a local soccer team; been a Union Organiser for 20 years; wants to make Wollongong a walkable city, hence the need for cycleways and footpaths; identified that residents require access to a range of services such as libraries; looking forward to representing the community.

The 30-plus people attending the meeting asked candidates a series of questions at the conclusion of the presentations, such as what will be done to improve the safety of children and those with mobility issues on the footpaths and roads; what measures Council can put in place to improve overall pedestrian safety; what can Council do to increase affordable housing stock; what is Council doing to reduce the number of dogs running freely on orange zoned beaches (timed on leash areas) and identification of the need for more off leash areas away from beaches.

Concerns were also raised about dominance of Council by one party; the need to ensure the northern suburbs is well represented; and management of conflicts of interest.

The next TVC meeting is at 4pm on Sunday, September 22 at TRIPS Hall, Railway Parade, Thirroul. Email thirroulvillagecommittee@gmail.com