The second-term councillor has prioritised repairs to Wagga’s pothole-plagued roads as the first order of business.

The Wollundry Rotarian and volunteer presenter on 2AAA wants to establish a sustainable energy reserve to reduce council’s dependence on energy, rename Bolton Park cricket grounds to honour Michael Slater, Geoff Lawson and Mark Taylor, and upgrade Wagga city beach as part of the Riverside project. 

As mayor, Cr Conkey has lowered his sights to the bread and butter issues residents need local government to solve, such as crumbling roads, soaring youth crime rates and rewriting the most important planning documents.

How many potholes can council afford to fix?

We have to fix them all; it's not a matter of whether we can afford it or not, council simply cannot leave potholes in the roads.

There has been a $9 million annual roads maintenance shortfall for a long time, it’s not a new problem.

We could spend $110m on fixing our local roads, we could spend our whole annual budget.

Roads have always been a major issue, which was compounded by one of our wettest ever winters, but we were going to come unstuck sooner or later.

Our two options are to fund the repairs ourselves by taking out loans or hope for financial assistance from the state and federal governments. 

Whatever the funding model, as soon as the rain stops and the ground dries out we need to begin repairs. 

Will you have to shelve aspirations for this council to pay for road repairs?

We will need to revisit a whole range of proposals but first we need to know what the road repair budget will be and how much it will cost ratepayers. 

The shortfall between the cost of repairs and the amount of state and federal government assistance we receive will determine our priorities.

Youth crime is the biggest concern among Daily Advertiser readers, do you think council can do something meaningful to address the growing problem?

We can lobby.

That will be one of my first priorities after we address our roads, to sit down with Wagga MP Daryl Maguire and local police officers to better understand what council can do to assist them.

I don’t know if there’s anything council can do in terms of lobbying for more resources, but I will have that conversation.

Are you concerned Wagga's expansion is being drawn up without directors of planning nor infrastructure at Wagga council?

We have some issues as far as planning is concerned, which I raised with the (council) general manager this morning and those issues are being addressed. 

Councillors will be involved in those major planning documents, as both of them are crucial.

Wagga has to be correctly planned, it's a big issue.

The city is growing and will grow at a faster rate over the next few years.

We need to make sure we have correct plans in place to accommodate that growth. 

Will you rehash plans for a smoke-free CBD from Station Place to Knight’s Meat?

It’s not a priority. 

I'm passionate about banning smoking or at least pushing for smoke-free areas, but it won't be a high priority.

Why did you think Wagga needed a change from mayor Rod Kendall?

There was a mood within council for a change.

Not only within the three new councillors (Dan Hayes, Vanessa Keenan and Tim Koschel) but the others as well.

It’s healthy to have a change of mayor, I don't think any mayor should be in the job for 8, 12, 16 years. 

Rod served this city well for the last four years and I congratulate him for what he has done.

He has been extremely gracious in the election process and is helping me enormously as I transition into the job.

I appreciate the support I have received and will receive from him over the weeks and months. 

It shows the character of the man.

How will you work with the conservatives on council; Kerry Pascoe, Paul Funnell and Yvonne Braid?

I have a good working relationship with all three. 

I will be sitting down with all councillors on a regular basis.

How pressing is a Wagga bypass to get trucks off local roads?

It’s extremely important and the new Eunony Bridge, along with the enabling roads infrastructure at Bomen, will achieve part of that goal.

That of course brings into question the Gobba bridge capacity.

We need to lobby (the state government) for the duplication of the Gobba bridge. 

Much has been made of this council cementing projects put in train during the last four years, but what does that mean practically speaking?

The last four years went further than that, big projects like the levee bank upgrade, Equex, the Bomen enabling roads and Eunony Bridge have all been signed off and will bear fruit in the next two to three years.

They’re done and dusted as far as finances are concerned.

Speaking of Bomen, what is happening with the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RIFL) Hub?

The aim is for Genese and Wyoming (Australia) to proceed with the RIFL. 

They’re in town in the not too distant future and I will have further ongoing discussions with them.

At the moment, we haven't got total commitment, but we have an in-principle agreement and we'll talk to them to so that can proceed.