A SUPER park near the river and “functional” art are just some of the areas the Labor ticket is running on this local government election.
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The five person strong team is one of the biggest Labor turnouts in years.
All candidates are under 40 years of age and include a student, psychologist and small business owners.
Lead candidate Dan Hayes said the team hoped to capitalise on the national swing towards Labor in the federal election.
“What I really like about council as compared to state or federal is that direct contact people can have with government,” he said.
“You walk out and you can see it their road, it is their parking, it is their library and it is their park.”
Mr Hayes also said unhappiness over forced amalgamations would be high on people’s minds.
While Wagga has remained alone, the perception that a coalition government forced mergers does not sit well with its traditional voters, Mr Hayes said.
“I think we saw at the federal election that mergers had an impact there with places like Gundagai going to Labor,” he said.
“I think in Wagga we’re running on a Labor ticket to be transparent.”
All five of the candidates support more work in a range of areas which includes better roads and footpaths, supporting the arts and accessible public policy.
Mr Hayes would also like to see a “super park” at Wagga beach built to capitalise on the area during summer.
“There’s one down by the river and its really good, but let’s develop the area,” he said.
“Looking at something like a super park really makes it a recreational area and another safe place for kids to play.”
The group will make up any inexperience with a fresh look at local government, Mr Hayes said.
“We think we present a good case, there’s five of us, we’ve got new ideas, we’re young and we’re passionate about living in Wagga,” he said.
“We think that will win us more votes than anything else.”
The September election will be Mr Hayes’ second tilt at a political career.
At the 2015 state election, Mr Hayes was the Labor candidate and unsuccessfully challenged Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.