Waverley Council: Prospects, policies and new direction
Having been voted in as Waverley Mayor at the first post-election Council meeting, Sally Betts is promising to take the area forward in a new direction.
As a member of Council for over 17 years, Ms Betts praised the hard work of her team, and a strong campaign behind their convincing victory at the September 8 elections. While fellow Liberals Councillor Tony Kay is new to the position of Deputy Mayor, this is Ms Betts’ fourth term at the helm, having previously occupied the position from 2008 to 2011.
“The fact that we picked up two additional seats is just amazing,” she said. “It just gives us an opportunity over the next four years to really get Waverley back on track and do what our residents want us to do … make sure that Waverley is clean and tidy, and that the infrastructure is fixed.”
For Ms Betts, an ongoing interaction with local residents was the defining feature of her political campaign, and she will strive to consolidate this engagement through regular community consultations. Ms Betts said these consultations will allow Council to ensure policies meet the needs of local residents and advance in a new direction.
Helping her to see this through are three newly-elected councillors in Lawson Ward: The Liberals’ Angela Burrill and Andrew Cusack, and Labor’s Paula Masselos. Despite a lack of experience in Waverley politics, former Mayor and current Labor Councillor John Wakefield maintained it was other qualities – confidence, business acumen and professionalism – that would be defining assets to Council operations.
“There are other far more important capacities, such as [attitude] and the open-mindedness of the individual,” he said. “It’s not their experience so much that is important here. They’ll have others around to guide them, including those like myself who aren’t in their party.”
Ms Betts said the upcoming October 16 Council meeting would allow Council to implement necessary changes to existing policies.
“We are about to start consultation on our new strategic plan, Waverley Together 3,” she said. “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to build a bridge with the community, and build a dialogue with them.”
The strategic plan will focus on addressing local concerns including parking, financial sustainability and the renovation of existing infrastructure. There will be a particular focus on the maintenance of roads and dumped rubbish in Waverley.
State Liberal member for Vaucluse, Gabrielle Upton views parking and economic management as the most important issues for the local community.
“The problem is people living in very densely populated streets,” she said. “We’ve talked about making sure the books are in order … People like to live in a clean area, and they want to make sure that money is available so that the rubbish is collected, and that the footpaths and roads are in good repair.”
At the October 2 Finance, Ethics and Strategic Planning Committee meeting, a raft of community issues were raised, including community housing, upgrading Tamarama Park Kiosk, and garbage collection in Waverley.
“There was a report on the cleaning regime and dumped rubbish, which is such a perennial problem that we have,” Ms Betts said. “We need to make sure the dumped rubbish is picked up as quickly as possible and that graffiti is removed as quickly as we can. The cleanliness of Waverley is just critical.”
Councillor Leon Goltsman said Council needed to work together in spite of political differences, but the future of Waverley Council is bright.
“Our aim as a council is to represent our community as best as we can,” he said. “I think of all councillors as my brothers and sisters, with the voters being the parents. While we might not always get along … we are required to behave ourselves and do the right thing. Professionalism is the mark of a great councillor. It goes a long way in representing the community.”
