Why did you join the Labor Party?

I’ve always felt the value of fairness was very important, it’s what appealed to me about the party foundation: fairness, equality, true democracy, doing your best for the broadest range of people in the community and protecting the vulnerable.

A family friend who was mayor in Alice Springs inspired me with her career, her family and her significant role on council.

I want to see more diversity on the council, I saw a wall of faces and asked where the women and young people were. We bring the diversity.

What are the biggest issues facing Wagga?

I talk to a lot of young people in my work as a psychologist and I hear a lot about what’s wrong and what’s great.

Youth crime keeps popping up as an issue, a lot of young people say they don’t want to be here and look forward to leaving. We want Wagga to be a place where young people stay to work and start a family. The best way to solve these problems are to speak to youth and that’s why we’ve put forward the idea of a youth council.

Are you concerned by the swing against party politics at the federal level?

We saw an encouraging swing in the federal election and our candidate had wonderful support and won a couple of the booths.

There are some issues that have brought people on board, I’m talking to people when I’m out doing letterbox drops and they’re happy Labor’s running.

As a psychologist, what can be done in the health sector?

There’s always room to improve on mental health.

The first thing to do is to engage the relevant people and to ask them how we might go about improving services, there’s definitely scope there I think.

How can we help prepare Wagga for the future?

Labor for Wagga are trying to connect community. 

We’d like to ask young people what they think would help them feel more connected with their city.

We need to attract business and development so jobs are available and so young people stay in Wagga, invest here personally and professionally and grow young families themselves.

Feedback we have received is that council is disconnected from community and business and there is a lack of trust.

We want to improve that connection so residents and business owners can have faith in good governance and transparency.

Why should people vote for such a young candidate?

My idea of council is it should be a super-diverse group of people. There’s only nine spots so it doesn’t allow as much diversity, but given the old council was one woman and ten middle-aged white men it’s not hard to be more diverse.

I don’t think my age would be a problem. Understanding the city doesn’t come purely from age but those who are motivated to talk, do the research, read the papers, some might think people in their 20’s wouldn’t want to do that but just because I’ve been alive for a shorter time doesn’t mean I can’t contribute.

What are the biggest issues facing Wagga?

One of the biggest is the funding issues and priorities.

Decent footpaths in the outer suburbs for people aren’t functional. A lot of footpaths just end mid-street or aren’t there at all. Pushing a pram can become dangerous. You don’t want to have to drive to go for a walk.

Creating better cycle tracks would lead to less traffic as well.

We need to increase park amenities across the whole city. That’s not just creating one park for the disabled, all parks should be inclusive to give options for families. In a city of 70,000 people we’re a bit beyond that.

We should also look at functional art. If you’re going to build a skate park, why not turn it into art?

What services do young people need?

Wagga’s pretty good especially for young people who move here for uni. There are shops, doctors who bulk bill, headspace, but after you’ve been here a while there’s not much diversity in terms of entertainment.

It’s hard to look at that from a council perspective, it’s really up to business to deliver it, it’s important to make sure the services that are here are valued by the community.

How should council approach the business community?

Both businesses and the council want Wagga to be a great place. As the city grows businesses will generate more income and council will have the growth they want.

It’s important to have a back and forth between the two groups as council can facilitate growth and we need representation from business on council too.

I think this year will be one of the best elections because there are so many choices, there are multiple people from different backgrounds who could work together cohesively.

What’s important for the future of Wagga?

Working out how to build a city that encourages young people to stay or come back to raise their families. There’s a bit of a trend to leave as soon as you can.

Council needs to help the city adapt and advance. The suburbs need as much attention as the CBD, they may not seem to give much in return but comfortable suburbs will encourage people to stay. There’s no point being strong in tourism if it’s not a nice place to live.