VOLUNTEER firefighter and founder of the fledgling Voice of Cockburn Association, Marcus Burnett, says residents needs are “not being met properly” by the current council.
Mr Burnett is contesting a Central Ward seat at this month’s council election and says consultation with residents and community groups like sports clubs should be a bigger council responsibility.
“I think the biggest issues for Central Ward at the moment is having that engagement, especially from a sporting club level,” Mr Burnett said.
“We have two large teams with Phoenix Cricket Club and Beeliar Spirit AFC, who can’t accommodate people at their clubs because their facilities are inadequate.
“The biggest sticking point for me as a father with two young daughters is there is absolutely no accommodation, unless manufactured by the clubs themselves, for women at these clubs… they don’t even have their own dedicated change rooms, and I think in this day and age that should be an absolute minimum.
“Again, it all tails back to consultation… there should be an obligation from council where they’re providing even a temporary measure, it shouldn’t be down to the clubs to find all of the solutions all the time, because they’re trying to do their bit but ultimately need that assistance from council.”
• Cockburn Central Ward candidate Marcus Burnett.
Despite complimenting the current council on “a lot of successes”, Mr Burnett says there “needs to be less factionalism” within its ranks.
“I feel that it’s fractured with factions, and that to me is not conducive to having positive outcomes for the community,” he said.
“It goes without saying, we should have people in council question each other, their decisions, their choices, and have debate.
“I think it would be wrong if everyone agreed about everything all the time, [but] there needs to be… more collectively working together.”
Since he announced his candidacy, Mr Burnett says his signage has been targeted with vandalism.
“Within 48 hours, I had over half of my signs either damaged, destroyed, or stolen, and I’ve managed to recover 90 per cent of them, but this is occurring almost daily now… you expect some signs to go missing, and not necessarily the cost of it and everything, it’s just the principle,” Mr Burnett said.
“It’s a poor state that we find ourselves in if we can’t democratically advertise ourselves in the community without these kinds of behaviours… I’ve not been the only one, but I’ve probably been hit the hardest, it’s been very saddening.
“There is a core group of us as candidates in Central that are trying to help each other, and if we find signs that have been thrown or damaged, we’re letting each other know.”
The ‘core group’ is Philip Eva and Bradley Zarins, who Mr Burnett is preferencing in the race for Central Ward, but he denies the alliance will translate into a faction if they take both council seats available and Mr Eva wins the mayoral race.
“Ultimately, I’ve worked with these two people for a number of years in different capacities, and they both hold the same values that I do,” Mr Burnett said.
“To me, this should be about betterment, not attacking each other… you’ve got to work together when you’re on council, so really, the work starts before you’re even there, building those relationships with the people that you’re potentially going to be sat with at that table.
“I don’t want these factions in council, and I certainly wouldn’t be creating any myself.”
Mr Burnett will face a tough run into the seat, with seven other candidates running in Central Ward at the October 18 election.
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER