New Whittlesea mayor Ricky Kirkham has implored the state government to do more to make the city liveable, not just affordable.
Cr Kirkham, who was elected mayor ahead of Cr Kris Pavlidis on November 3, used his acceptance speech to call for the government to invest in more infrastructure.
He said Whittlesea has a long and growing list of infrastructure gaps, which include the O’Herns Road freeway interchange, the duplication of Bridge Inn Road and construction of the E6 linking the Metropolitan Ring Road to Bridge Inn Road.
“We face continued unprecedented growth, with more than 8000 residents moving to Whittlesea each year,” Cr Kirkham said. “Continued pressure from urban development and failing state government infrastructure is of great concern to our community without essential services and infrastructure, our communities compromise liveability.”
Cr Kirkham said it was time for the council to say “enough is enough”, adding that there was no point buying a cheap house in Whittlesea if the cost of living was too high.
“Where are the roads, jobs and services to sustain these communities?” he said.
“Our strong leadership over the next four years is essential to turn the discussion from affordability to liveability.”
Cr Kirkham also urged his fellow councillors to act in the best interests of the community.
“Our team is not team Liberal, team Labor, it is team Whittlesea,” he said.
This is the second time Cr Kirkham has been mayor, holding the position in 2014-15.
Hume’s new councillors also chose to elect a former mayor, asking veteran councillor Drew Jessop to take on the council’s top job.
Cr Jessop has been on council since 1997, and was mayor in 2001-02. In his acceptance speech, he said he had never seen so many new faces on council, adding that in the past 20 years, only 30 people have been elected to Hume council.
He urged fellow councillors to remember they’d been chosen to represent the community, to ensure they read their agendas and briefing papers, accept majority decisions, engage in mature debate and don’t overplay to the gallery.
