Erica Liu independent candidate – City of Sydney Council election 2016

We asked each Lord Mayoral candidate to respond on behalf of their team to three questions raised by our readers. Erica Lui the one non-aligned independent candidate standing for councillor was also given the opportunity to respond.

For the first time it is compulsory for business and property owners within the City of Sydney to vote. A total of 22,972 non-residential voters were verified by the NSW Electoral Commission as eligible to vote at the 2016 City of Sydney election.

1. PROGRESS — What do you want the Council to achieve in the coming term and what programs and services need to be reassessed?

I want Council to:

• Support and preserve Sydney’s cultural heritage and reform the Rocks, Oxford Street and Haymarket.
• Improve cleaning and maintenance of council assets, and improve waste disposal services for local businesses.
• Work with stakeholders to devise alternatives to current State Government “lock-out laws”, which are destroying local businesses.
• Invest in infrastructure to promote local business, and promote tourism.
• Work with the NSW Police to increase safety.
• Focus on securing funding from the State Government for new schools.
• Provide and encourage an increased number of quality childcare facilities.

2. COMMUNITY INPUT — How do you propose to ensure broad community input into Council’s planning, programs and service provision?

I want Council to improve the level of community consultation on local government projects beyond compliance, increase public awareness of consultation opportunities and ensure that consultation plans are adhered to prior to project implementation. Council should investigate the appointment of an independent party to audit compliance with community consultation requirements. I also want to establish open discussion forums for residents and businesses.

3. ADVOCACY — Given that the decisions of the state government will have big impacts on local communities in the City of Sydney, what issues and role do you see Council playing in advocating for the inner-city community?

Council needs to work very closely with the State Government to protect the interests of inner city residents and businesses. For example, Council should apply greater pressure on the State Government to change its lock-out laws, establish an open forum for discussion, and encourage the participation of all stakeholders to establish the right balance between the safety of residents, the vitality of the city and the provision of entertainment facilities.