“IF you’re going to put your name out there, you’ve got to stand up for what you believe in. I believe in the community.”

David West has announced he will stand for the positions of councillor and mayor at the Greater Taree City Council elections in September.

First elected to council in 1991 and a councillor since (with the exception of 1994 to 1998), he has served as deputy mayor for the past four years.

“I’ve happily served the community in this position. I feel I’ve done my apprenticeship.”

He commits himself full time to his position on council and declares that he is an unaligned person who will not be running on a group ticket.

“I do this job because I adore it,” and pointing out that because Mave Richardson and Mal Marks are expected not to contest this election, he will be the only remaining councillor with any corporate knowledge going back to 1991.

During his time on council David spent six years serving alongside popular mayor Mick Tuck and said that although their politics were different he learnt a lot from him about how to consult with the community – something he feels is an important aspect when it comes to the roles of mayor and councillor.

He said council is facing a number of issues.

Apart from the issues faced on a day-to-day basis, areas including economic management, the community consultative process, roads management, public services and the speculation of a possible merger between local government areas, are all of importance to him.

Roads and how they are funded is one of the biggest.

“I don’t believe the State government realises just how critical the situation is with our roads.”

With that in mind, if re-elected he will coordinate a busload of school principals and P and C representatives to visit Macquarie Street, and tell the roads minister and premier themselves just how serious the situation is.

“We have young people travelling on buses on roads that are downright dangerous.

“The most critical issue is the ability to get people home safely and get children to and from school.”

This was a project he was already working on with Taree High principal Peter Bird before Mr Bird’s accident meant it was unable to continue.

David wants to push the State government for more funding and suggests it be asked for roads funding to come through a grants loan situation that would be interest free.

He doesn’t think it’s fair for taxpayers to foot the bill for interest when they already pay GST and carbon tax – and it’s their money anyway.

Another issue facing council is the speculation of future amalgamation.

“The State government is looking to undertake major cuts in the public sector and they talk about local government being sustainable.

“The reason it’s not sustainable at the moment is because of State government cost shifting.

“Local councils are constrained by their ability to deliver services and to generate an income with the exception to gauging money from ratepayers or taxpayers,” said David.

He said if amalgamation went ahead between Greater Taree, Great Lakes and Gloucester shire councils it would cover almost a third the size of Tasmania and a population of 110,000, with road infrastructure beyond its use-by date.

“How is that going to be funded with all three councils struggling to be sustainable?

“If we are amalgamated we will be in a vastly worse situation.

“I would like to call on the federal government to create a situation where they fund local councils in regional areas the same way they fund hospitals, where money is given to the state and tied to health with revenue coming from GST and other means.

“Why can’t it be tied to local infrastructure, and by that I mean roads. This wouldn’t require a referendum but the will of the federal government to change legislation.”

David will also ensure critical services are maintained at an extremely high level, for example the library.

He said there are statistics that show how positive the library service can be on social issues, educational issues and mental wellbeing issues – libraries contribute.

He would also like to push for a clinical services study to help in seeking funding for our area.

When it comes election time David urges people to take the time to vote ‘below the line’ for the individuals they want to represent them instead of voting for groups.

“There’s a need for people to continue to want to give themselves to council and know they don’t want to be part of a group.

“Local government is about the people; people living in the area making decisions.”