Yesterday my name was mentioned in one of the media outlets with regard to the proposed Federal boundaries redistribution process so I want to make it completely clear as to why my name was mentioned and how I was involved.
Last week on Monday 12th August I was contacted both by Paul Fletcher Liberal MP for Bradfield and Dr Sophie Scamps Teal MP for Mackellar with regard to a public hearing that the Australian Electoral Commission was hosting. At this public hearing, the electoral commission amongst other things wanted speakers to talk about “electoral division(s) in which the suburbs of St Ives and St Ives Chase are located”.
Apparently, some other people in Sydney’s North had this strange idea that St Ives was part of the Northern Beaches and were suggesting that St Ives and St Ives Chase should be moved from Bradfield to Mackellar.
Given my great deal of respect for both of these MPs from different parties, as well as my personal conviction that St Ives is part of the North Shore, I was glad to oblige and speak on the matter.
My speech, which I delivered on Wednesday 14th August at around 11:15am, is copy and pasted below. A copy of the transcript will be available on the Electoral Commission website at a later point in time.
I am the Mayor of Ku-ring-gai which starts from Roseville in the south to Wahroonga in the North, and from West Pymble to the West to St Ives in the East.
I have been a resident of these suburbs for the last 37 years, and attended schools in Roseville and St Ives.
I have also been a resident of the electorate of Bradfield for these last 37 years, and it’s a great community.
One thing that really defines us as a community is our proximity to both the Pacific Highway and the North Shore Train Line, which serves as our connection to the outside world. Whether we live right on the transport line in suburbs like Lindfield, Gordon and Wahroonga, or whether we live in the outskirts like East Lindfield, West Pymble or St Ives, we always flock to the North Shore to connect to the outside world.
Geographically, our community is also defined by the Lane Cove National Park to the West which separates us from Ryde Council and Bennelong, as well as the Garigal National Park to the East which separates us from the Northern Beaches Council and Mackellar. The geographic features physically and psychologically separate us from the residents and shops of the other electorates.
When I speak to residents in St Ives, their connection is with the North Shore line and its nearby suburbs. They will go to Pymble, Gordon, Killara and Turramurra to park their cars and commute to work or weekend activities. They will also flock to our town centres along the North Shore line for goods, services, and community events.
St Ives residents consider themselves part of the North Shore and have little connection with the Northern Beaches, and to seek Federal Representation they aren’t going to travel all the way to Narrabeen. They would rather keep it local.
If you look at our local community service organisations such as Rotary and Lions, they also have a strong history together.
The Rotary Club of St Ives regularly supports the other Rotary clubs of Ku-ring-gai, Turramurra, Wahroonga, and Chatswood on jointly run events such as the Bobbin Head Cycle Classic, the Wahroonga Village Fair and Lindfield Fun Run. I have never heard of them running joint events with Rotary clubs beyond the geographic divide.
Likewise when I assist the St Ives Lions club with their youth of the year program, the students who apply are ones within the East and West geographic boundaries. They are from North Turramurra, Wahroonga, Killara, and Roseville. We don’t have applicants from the Northern Beaches.
When you look at social media, St Ives has a strong connection to our local Ku-ring-gai and Bradfield suburbs. We have the St Ives Community Page as well as the Gordon, Killara and St Ives Community Group. And when you look at the posts, they all relate to activities and events that that occur in the Ku-ring-gai LGA and Bradfield Electorate. They hardly mention the Northern Beaches or Mackellar.
At Bradfield we embrace our connection to the world via the North Shore Line, whereas those people in the Northern Beaches and Mackellar are a completely different tribe. They value their seclusion and geographic inaccessibility from the rest of Sydney.
As Mayor, I also see the benefits of having LGA’s that align with State and Federal Seats where possible.
When it comes to resident queries, I often receive questions that relate to Federal matters and I refer them to the member of Bradfield. But unfortunately with State matters I have to check the resident’s address as the State seat of Davidson covers 85% of Ku-ring-gai and I have to determine whether the query goes to Davidson or Wahroonga.
I also appreciate the AEC’s proposed redistribution because when it comes to the North Shore, it respects LGA boundaries and makes a lot of sense.
The Federal Member for Bradfield no longer has to spread himself across citizenship ceremonies, ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day, and community events across three LGAs. Instead, he dedicates his time to representing the people of Willoughby and Ku-ring-gai. Meanwhile the suburbs of Asquith and Waitara rejoin their other Hornsby Council communities in the seat of Berowra.
The AEC’s proposal also means the Federal Member for Mackellar can focus her efforts on the Northern Beaches Council without having to traverse the geographic divide for events with Ku-ring-gai and the forgotten people of St Ives.
Further south, the AEC’s proposal also largely aligns with LGA boundaries and that makes it much simpler for pre-established community groups to know that if they belong to the same LGA, they also belong to the same Federal Electorate.
Thank you for listening to me. As Mayor I care deeply for our community including the residents of St Ives, and I know that they would like to be represented by someone who lives and breathes the North Shore.
