Introduction: Laura Cole, I was born and bred in Bathurst, making that 22 years. It's time for some new faces and fresh ideas, it's also important to have women on council to represent our community's diversity and to provide a greater perspective on issues. My aim is to encourage youth to be more involved in council initiatives as they are the regions future. Improving the overall communication between council and the community is also one of my major focuses.
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Popularly-elected mayor: I personally see an issue with a popularly-elected mayor. Whilst I would love to provide the community with the opportunity to elect their preferred mayor, unfortunately there isn't enough transparency to provide the general public with full knowledge of what that person is really like behind closed doors. There are various councils who have seen first hand, the harm that a popularly elected mayor can cause.
Water sale: No - once a contract is signed, there's no going back! We must protect our essential water resource for current and future generations.
Roundabout: Yes. I am in full support of a fully funded roundabout. This is a very dangerous intersection and something needs to be done, sooner rather than later!
Australia Day: I can understand the arguments from both parties, I see Australia Day as a celebration of all the wonderful people that live in Australia and everything that makes this country great. I have never witnessed an Australia Day celebration that has excluded somebody due to their race or based on the history of the date. Whilst this date may hold negative connotations for some citizens, I think it's important that we continue to celebrate Australia Day on the 26th and involve the entire community so that nobody feels that they are neglected.
TAFE building: This magnificent, heritage building would be a wonderful feature of the CBD if maintained as some sort of educational building - such as a museum, or storage for Bathurst's vast historical artifacts and costumes. It could possibly operate as somewhere that people could go to research and discover more about Bathurst's history.
Rates cap: It's not ideal. Whilst rates are essential to fund the maintenance of community assets and facilities, the cost of living is rising and rates are already costly enough. Existing monies need to be better managed and stricter priorities made for the annual budget.
Christmas decorations: Yes - numerous people have said that Christmas doesn't feel the same nowadays as we're all so busy and communities don't put as much emphasis on the celebrations as they did in the past. Funded Christmas decorations would create a more joyous feeling within the CBD and create an atmosphere that encourages local festive shopping.
CCTV: Absolutely! CCTV in other cities has seen an improvement to the rates of vandalism and street offences, and this is vital for creating a safer city and to support our local businesses.
Demolition by neglect: It's an in depth conversation that's needed, to ensure that councillors and the wider community are educated in the Council Heritage Strategy, and property owners understand that support is available for the upkeep of their heritage properties. At this point in time, I believe that some degree of sanctions is required to ensure that Bathurst's heritage housing is well managed and kept in an attractive state. Bathurst's heritage is unique and needs to be preserved, so if it requires council placing sanctions on property owners who fail to maintain their property, I am in support of this.
Attendance: Four. My time as Youth Deputy Mayor and fellow youth councillor also provided me with a wealth of experience and knowledge as to what working with a team of councillors is like.
