2018-05-10
Hon. Tim Clifford
An astounding seven hundred plus people responded to a survey we distributed asking people about their experiences as a renter. This response cemented our conviction that something needs to be done about renting in Western Australia. Our office will be campaigning alongside trusted organisations like Tenancy WA to influence change in the Residential Tenancies Act as it comes up for review. The beginning of our campaign to Balance the Scales was launched in early April at a forum which set out to 'start the conversation around renting and set the intention to drive legislative change to ensure renters get a fair deal.
The Forum, facilitated by Senator Jordon Steele-John, featuring Kate Davis, Principal Solicitor of Tenancy WA, as a keynote speaker was well attended and the ensuing 'conversation was lively and informative. I will be hosting local events in the coming months to keep this conversation going as well as offering an open door policy to the public in May.
Our stalls at local markets continue to be well attended and offer an excellent opportunity for me to hear from constituents on issues that matter to them.
The Midland Oval debacle continues in my electorate, while the video we broadcast illustrating what the City of Swan was calling public open space might have been seen to be a bit of fun, the underlying message is disturbing. The City of Swans claims of assuring its residents that they can access genuine public open space is questionable when placed under close examination. Some of the spaces included a car park, a verge between Great Eastern Highway and a vacant block. I thought this worthy of mentioning in parliament and made a members statement to ensure this was placed on the public record. The constituents of the City of Swan deserve better than this.
To 'celebrate bike week we thought wed check out whats actually happening in our local area and we took our video camera down to a local bike pathway. We uncovered some interesting facts and figures, like just in this spot alone, the cyclists we spotted saved $21,514 and reduced emissions by up to 3.76 tonnes. Check it out here if you havent seen it yet:
https://www.facebook.com/TimforEastMetro/videos/2053759861567411/
Header photo: Advocating for renters rights. Grace Turco
Text photo: Ride to Work Day, during Bike Week. Grace Turco