This year is a Council election year.
The biggest question facing us is this: What do you want the future of the Hawkesbury to be?
We want the Hawkesbury to thrive, with vibrant town centres and well maintained roads. We want to look after our heritage and our environment. But the biggest thing Council will ever take a position on is how many more houses will we build in our city. There are developers who want to build thousands more houses in our city, on both sides of the river.
You shouldn’t believe that more urban sprawl can’t be avoided, or that if we share our views, we won’t be heard.
So I’m launching “futureofthehawkesbury.com“, a new website. Its job is to host surveys and petitions to gather the widest ever spread of your views about roads, development, the environment, child-care and other matters on which Council can make a difference.
In late 2020, Council debated our housing policy. We know the suburbs along the south-eastern boundary of our city (like Oakville, Vineyard and Maraylya) are on the front line of the pressure for more development. Look at what’s happening along Windsor Road, and on the eastern side of Boundary Road.
The pressure for yet more areas to be subdivided is splitting our community. I recognised that some are in favour of subdivision, and some against. In that debate I said the simplest and most courteous thing we should do, and especially in those suburbs, is ask everyone what they want the future to look like. I was voted down. More recently, I re-floated the idea of a comprehensive survey asking what people’s views on development were, and it was clear I wouldn’t have the numbers to pass it in the chamber.
I have my theories. Those against development worry that even asking the question opens a can of worms. Those for development worry that a properly comprehensive survey will prove that a majority of Hawkesbury residents are against it.
But the website is about more than that. If there’s an issue you think Council is neglecting, and you want to prove that the community are united in demanding action, sign one of the petitions we’re kicking off with, or suggest your own.
This September will be the most consequential Council election in the Hawkesbury’s history.
Watch this one-minute introduction, and then head on over to the website. Be engaged, and be heard.
