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Provide affordable and social housing

We need to increase the supply of affordable and public housing and reduce homelessness across the City of Sydney. I will:

  • Double the City’s Affordable Housing Fund to provide more homes for essential workers, creatives and those escaping domestic violence.
  • Work with the State Government to approve more housing and increase developer contributions for affordable housing.
  • Incentivise major developments to include affordable rental housing built on site.
  • Develop new models for integrated affordable housing, including repurposing existing buildings.
  • Maximise the use of all City owned properties for community, commercial and creative purposes.

Power a clean and green economy

We need to minimise resource use, reuse as much as we can and ensure the City is continuing to lead the way in tackling climate change. I will:

  • Lead by example, aggressively electrifying Council’s operations.
  • Establish a rates rebate for residents and local business that install solar or switch to green power.
  • Consider bringing forward net-zero buildings requirements in close consultation with the community.
  • Implement organic food waste collection across the entire local government area.
  • Increase green space in City of Sydney, incorporating native landscapes and drawing on Indigenous knowledge.
  • Champion the circular economy and incentivise the use of less carbon intensive products, materials and services.

Champion creativity and culture

We need to champion creativity and culture. Soaring rents are displacing creative workers and our arts institutions are under increasing financial pressure. I will:

  • Cut red tape and rates for cultural and creative endeavours.
  • Expand late night trading, with an additional two hours for venues with live music.
  • Continue to invest in Sydney's creative and cultural development and provide grant funding for events and festivals.
  • Ensure that grant funding is awarded to projects which showcase the City's diversity and are accessible to all.
  • Provide and increase subsidised live/work space for young and early career artists.
  • Establish a creative land trust to expand space for creative industries.
  • Foster Sydney's 'missing middle' including mid-sized venues, mid-sized organisations and opportunities for mid-career artists.

Create a fairer, safer, healthier Sydney

We want to place community well-being at the heart of our planning system. Our vision is for a city that values community health, connection, and equity across generations. I will:

  • Fix and maintain our footpaths and streets to ensure accessibility for all - especially the elderly and less-abled - and implement a comprehensive walking strategy so walking is safe, enjoyable, and convenient for everyone.
  • Connect and improve Sydney’s cycleway network, removing unsafe pop-up cycleways and properly consulting with communities to ensure safe, evidence-based, and fit-for-location design.
  • Support programs like Purple Flag Precincts which make our streets safer, especially for women and girls.
  • Increase funding for crisis accommodation for those experiencing domestic violence and/or homelessness.
  • Protect free rates for pensioners.

Boost small businesses and entrepreneurs 

We need to create an environment where Sydney’s businesses and local industries can thrive into the future and create employment opportunities. I will:

  • Continue to invest in Sydney's economic development and provide grants for innovators and entrepreneurs.
  • Work with business groups and residents to activate our alleys and retail streets.
  • Support the establishment of business collectives and Community Improvement Districts.

Improve community engagement

We must ensure genuine public consultation, and start reflecting community participation in the Council's decision-making. I will:

  • Enable direct representation by community and businesses in Council meetings.
  • Strengthen our advisory committees representing business, creative and community interests.
  • Provide feedback on submissions explaining how their input was utilised.

Make Sydney more inclusive

My team will recognise and celebrate Sydney’s diversity and create an inclusive environment for under-represented groups. I will:

  • Strive for greater representation in the public domains with public art and street/place names that celebrate women, First Nations, LGBTQI+, culturally diverse and less-abled Sydneysiders.
  • Start by commissioning a statue of Patyegarang in Dawes Point and adding signage to contextualise colonial-era statues.
  • Strengthen our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Inclusion (Disability) and Multicultural Advisory Panel's voice to Council.

Restore efficiency and accountability

Public trust in our political systems is crucial to upholding Australia's democratic values. We will make Council more transparent and accountable, so that residents and business-owners can see clearly how and why decisions are made. I will:

  • Accelerate processing of DAs and other permits monitored by transparent KPIs.
  • Continuer the digitalisation of all Council processes.
  • Invest in and grow our Open Data initiatives including City of Sydney's Open Data Hub.
  • Review council planning processes to maximise flexibility in considering approvals.

Build accessible Urban Billabongs

As summers get hotter, everyone in our growing city needs access to places to meet, play, and cool off in the heat. An I will:

  • Build five accessible Urban Billabongs, in the form of shallow lagoons with shaded areas and trees, tracing old City of Sydney creeks and waterways.
  • Design the Urban Billabongs to be ephemeral in nature: sometimes full for paddling, and sometimes partly empty to make space for cultural or music events.
  • Create an Ochre Songline though the city, connecting the sites so that people can travel between them on foot, by bike, or using public transport.
  • Ensure the Urban Billabongs are accessible for all residents, honouring First Nations History while providing access to water for everybody to enjoy.

Make Sydney a pet-friendly city

There's no reason why owners of well-behaved pets in Sydney can't enjoy the same freedoms as those in other major cities across the world. I will:

  • Encourage hotels, restaurants, cafes and shops in the City of Sydney to make pets as welcome as their owners.
  • Make strong recommendations to transport organisations and authorities, to allow pets to travel.
  • Review city and park planning to ensure there are enough fully-stocked dog waste bag dispensers and bins.
  • Support responsible pet ownership, focusing on health and safety education, with Council-run information services, workshops and forums.
  • Review on-leash and timed off-leash areas in parks and recreational areas in the City of Sydney, to ensure fair access for everybody.