State election: Wyndham council urges vote for ‘us’

Wyndham council is urging residents to vote for the political party that best serves local interests when they head to the polls on November 29.

Releasing its election wishlist on Monday, the council said political parties had been ignoring the city’s infrastructure needs for too long.

Cr Gautam Gupta said the council was fed up with the steady stream of election pledges being made by both Labor and Liberal parties while the needs of the fastest-growing community in the state were overlooked.

“We may not be a marginal seat but why should our needs be largely ignored?

“Governments needs to govern for the whole of state, not just marginal seats.”

The council wants funding commitments for the city’s transport and infrastructure needs, including arterial road duplications and the removal of level crossings, as well as a commitment to boosting employment opportunities in the municipality, improving existing schools and building new ones, and funding for health and welfare services.

Cr Adele Hegedich said Wyndham was “crying out” for funding for essential projects, not “luxuries”.

She said residents felt their votes did not mean as much as those in other areas.

Cr Glenn Goodfellow said the state government’s commitment of $120 million for basic infrastructure in growth areas was not enough. The funding will be shared between seven growth councils.

A 2013 Auditor-General’s report found Wyndham had an infrastructure funding shortfall of between $975 million and $1.3 billion.