Kaya,

I hope that you’re well and staying warm in the cooler weather. If your home is a little draughty, consider using the free home energy audit kit to see how to keep your home warmer!

I’m enjoying plenty of bike rides with the kids, and am grateful that my family have all recovered from the various illnesses circulating through the house. Happily, we recovered in time to enjoy some of the NAIDOC week activities around the town, including today’s community planting day. If you missed out on NAIDOC week (or even if you didn’t), check out deadly local Maatakitj’s music:

This newsletter covers:

• Getting involved;

• Behind the scenes at council: the budget process;

• Coming up in July: the budget, Bentley Tech Park, and advocacy priorities;

• Decisions made in June: the Draft Economic Development Strategy, 158 Orrong Road, and waste;

• Inspiration from elsewhere: bicycles, safer communities, and curtains for all!

Get involved

• Do you know a young person aged 16 to 25 who wants to help shape events and initiatives in the Town? Applications are open for the Young Leaders program!

• Join the Friends of Jirdarup to help keep the bushland free of weeds, or for a guided walk.

• It’s not too late to join Plastic Free July!

• Take a sneak peek at a cool new local project before the curtain are fully pulled back!

• Want to stay in touch with what’s happening around town without relying on social media algorithms? Subscribe to the Town newsletters, or newsletters for the Library, Community Centre, and Centre for the Arts.

Behind the Scenes at Council: the Budget Process

As I’ve previously written, the budget process involves a series of compromises. Staff have to decide which projects and services they’ll put forward. Council members often disagree about which of these should be prioritised. People across the community have a range of different desires and needs: services that might be vital to one person might seem entirely irrelevant to others.

This year, Town staff ran five budget workshops across several months, which included discussion of our overall financial picture; capital works program; fees and charges; and operating budget. Elected members asked questions and gave feedback on our priorities, which was synthesised into the draft budget being presented this month.

As expected, I would change aspects of the budget if I could. The budget is where we show what we prioritise, and I want to see us investing more in building resilient communities and climate action (especially forms of climate action that help people live more affordable and enjoyable lives).

Overall, however, I have been impressed by the care staff have put into managing a complex process in order to put together this year’s draft budget, and I’m cautious about making any substantial modifications to the draft before it’s passed on Tuesday night.

Coming up in July

July is a bit of an unusual one because items covered in the Agenda Briefing Forum (video recording here, notes here) will be decided across two meetings: the 14th July Special Council Meeting and the 21st July Ordinary Council Meeting (agenda still forthcoming).

Advocacy Priorities

Every year the Town engages in advocacy around issues where we are calling on other levels of government for increased support, funding, or action.

The draft list presented in Item 9.1 of the SCM includes advocacy around people who are sleeping rough or experiencing homelessness in the Town; development around Burswood, Carlisle, and Oats St stations; Higgins Park and Playfield Reserve; the Kent St Sandpit; and the Rutland Avenue Shared Path.

The 2026/2027 Budget

Item 9.2 on the SCM agenda is adoption of the budget, with appendices including the budget (in a standardised form as legally required); proposed fees and charges; and capital works program, among others.

It’s worth reading the item in detail, as it explains the process that has led to drafting the budget and the proposed 5% rate rise across residential and other properties (pg 14 on), as well as giving an overview of some key projects.

Staff explain some of the reasons for increased costs (pg 18 on), and set out five new staff positions, including an arborist (who will help to implement our new Tree Protection Policy and address concerns raised by the unauthorised removal of trees during the Elizabeth Baillie development).

Staff are also proposing that we have a full-time position to help support people who are experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. This position would help to connect people experiencing rental or mortgage pressures for the first time to access supports that could help them stay housed. It would help people who are couch-surfing or sleeping rough to navigate the range of different services available.

A wide range of people experience homelessness and housing insecurity, and our community will be stronger if we do our part to help.

Bentley Technology Park Precinct Structure Plan

There were quite a few questions about this item (to be addressed in the Ordinary Council Meeting on 21st July) at the Agenda Briefing Forum, particularly around the potential impact of data centres in the Precinct and how development might impact on our Urban Forest goals and black cockatoo habitat. Staff have suggested modifications aimed at addressing these concerns, but also noted in their responses during the meeting that there are limits to what the Town can do when it comes to changing this plan.

Decisions made in June

As always, I’ll highlight a few items of interest from the meeting, but read the minutes or watch the video for full details.

Item 12.1: Draft Economic Development Strategy 2026-2029

I previously put forward an amendment to ask the public about incorporating Community Wealth Building principles into this strategy, and staff got some great community feedback about the idea!

Cr Ingram raised concerns about the inclusion of community wealth building principles (1hr 4min) and put forward a procedural motion (pg 29) calling for the Strategy to be brought back to a concept forum. This failed, with Cr Ingram and Mayor Vernon voting for, all others against.

The Strategy was then passed, with Cr Ingram voting against and all others for.

Item 12.2 Initiation of Scheme Amendment for Additional Use

We voted in support of a scheme amendment to allow 158 Orrong Road, Lathlain to operate as a drive-through, which will need to go out for public comment before a final decision. 

13.5 Mindarie Regional Council - Waste to Energy Agreements

I, along with all others on council, voted in favour of giving approval for progressing an agreement to send residual municipal waste to the Kwinana waste-to-energy plant. I admit that I feel some conflict about this, as I think the primary goal should be reducing the production of waste. However, given our available options (including local government’s limited regulatory powers around waste), this seems the best path available.

Inspiration from elsewhere

• Paris is showing that when you provide safe and enjoyable cycle infrastructure, people are keen to use it!

• New research from the UK has found that people in the community feel safer when car traffic decreases.

• The Dunedin Curtain Bank is helping people to reuse curtains and keep homes warmer - such an unexpected and lovely idea!

We are all connected

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the scale of the problems that we face. But there’s always something we can do.

If you have money to spare, consider donating to some of the organisations working urgently to support civilians through violence and dispossession. If you have time to spare, the Palestinian Community of Western Australia is looking for volunteers.

Boordawan!

Thanks for reading! As always, if you have questions, ideas, or concerns, please do feel free to get in touch. And if you’ve read this far and found it useful, please consider sharing with friends!

best wishes,

sky.