Formal lobbying committee will guide policy and focus: Shire president Julia Meldrum

Shire councillors are doubling down on their new-found appetite for lobbying State and Federal governments. Shire of Augusta-Margaret River president Julia Meldrum last week moved to form a new committee of elected members and senior staff to co-ordinate lobbying efforts and identify key and emerging priorities for action. It followed another lightning visit to Perth with new shire chief executive Andrea Selvey in tow for meetings with State and Federal MPs. “It’s time for us to make some noise, and this is the framework for us to consider it,” Ms Meldrum said at Wednesday’s council meeting. Councillors spoke up about their concerns at a lapse in funding for stalled major projects, including the expansion of Margaret River Hospital and Margaret River Senior High School. The final stages of the school’s already-approved upgrade are yet to see any funding for a new resource library, cafeteria, performing arts auditorium and learning areas for design, technology and enterprise. School board chair Barbara Maidment is concerned the upgrade plan may soon become obsolete in the face of booming enrolments, and fears some areas are unsafe. Cr Ian Earl lamented the delivery of two new transportable classrooms to the campus in the past week. “The high school is bursting at the seams,” he told colleagues on Wednesday. “The State has got to start putting their hands in their pocket.” Meanwhile, councillors related feedback that workers at the hospital were at their wits’ end. “We are all well aware how important this is,” deputy shire president Tracey Muir said. “We’re hearing from the hospital. They’re overwhelmed. They’re receiving increased mental health issues.” Cr Muir said the region was promoted to the world, but basics like healthcare needed greater investment and certainty. “We need to really hold ministers to account in spending in our area,” she said. “And we need definitive outcomes.”