A DESIRE to establish the long-term future of the region has given current Mildura Rural City Mayor Cr Liam Wood the drive behind seeking a second term on council.
Cr Wood had made no secret of his intention to serve out a single term in local government following his initial election in 2020 and subsequent elevation to the mayoral post the following year, but always left the door slightly ajar for future aspirations.
After preparing to exit the high profile role 12 months ago, Cr Wood said the stars have aligned for him to have another tilt at this year’s council elections in the Henderson Park Ward, as well as the city’s top post.
“I was probably 100 per cent out the door eight to 12 months ago, like I really knew this was my last year, but so much has changed in that time,” he said.
“These past six months with the new tourism campaign launch, Deakin Avenue redevelopment, the new adventure playground, Light State, the early learning centre at Red Cliffs and all the other projects still going on made me feel that I really wanted to be a part of that.
“And then there were the long-term issues such as the integrated transport study, the MEGA (Mildura East Growth Area) and industrial strategy.
“There’s a really great base to set long-term goals for our region.”
Cr Wood said that while he was initially deterred by the new ward structure, he saw an opportunity to turn what some perceive as a negative into a positive.
“When we’re perceived to be in a worse situation, those are the times that you need to stand up, hang in there and show face,” he said.
“Personally, I don’t think the ward system is great for our community, but once the election is over it will go back to being a council and councillors will represent their portfolios right across the region.”
Cr Wood said the change in electoral distribution would mean he will challenge the October elections on a ticket of potentially four candidates.
“I think Rebecca Crossling will be an amazing attribute to council and she is already an amazing attribute to the region and there are three others who I have spoken to and I’m really hopeful that at least two of those will put their hands up shortly,” he said.
“We’ve worked hard in the background for the past few months and we really want to hit the ground running, so we’ll be in there campaigning as a team.”
Cr Wood said that while he felt the direction of the organisation and council had been a steady upward trajectory, there were some specific areas he would like to focus on over the coming four years.
“The ticket that I ran on last time was to attract major events and that will never stop,” he said.
“It’s so good for the economy, but also good for everyone’s social wellbeing.
“Expanding business diversification is also really important in how big we are now as a regional city and with that comes resilience as well.
“We know that we’ve been smashed by flood and drought, so to have other industries to support the economy is really important.”
Cr Wood said leadership through listening was “super-important” if he again had the opportunity to contest the mayoral post.
“You’re only as good as the ideas and feedback that you get from the community and the biggest point that I think is on everyone’s mind is understanding the cost of living,” he said.
“I know that a lot of these pressures come from state and federal, but there are many things that local councils can do to help alleviate some of those issues for our community members who need it the most, in particular fees and charges.
“They are often the invisible barriers that can be eliminated for a small cost to council, but be a great relief to our community members.”
Cr Wood said that with brother Arron running for the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, there was an added opportunity to “leverage some of that relationship” to make sure that people in Melbourne were aware of where Mildura is.
