Union organiser and activist Sarah Hathway will contest the City of Greater Geelong local council elections for one of two positions in Windermere Ward, which covers聽parts of Bell Park, Bell Post Hill, Norlane, Corio, Lovely Banks and Lara.
Hathway lives in Norlane with her partner and 2-year-old daughter. She grew up in Whittington and attended school and TAFE in Geelong. Hathway is a member of Socialist Alliance.
鈥淚鈥檝e been an activist for most of my life and these tough times mean we need local fighters on council.
鈥淣orlane and Whittington are underserviced, and often ignored. Councillors and state MPs claim to do a lot, but little seems to change.鈥
Hathway was one of many campaigning for Geelong to declare a climate emergency last year, just before Australia鈥檚 devastating Black Summer fires. It did not, because two Windemere councillors sided with Liberal Party-aligned conservatives to prevent the declaration from being agreed to.
鈥淲e are facing serious challenges to our health, economy and environment, but some councillors want to stick their heads in the sand,鈥 she said.
鈥淭here is hope, however. It is good that has sided with the community to oppose at Crib Point. Council was listening to the community鈥檚 concerns about the project鈥檚 posing unacceptable risks to the environment.
鈥淭hey did not accept the company鈥檚 spin about providing jobs either.
鈥淕eelong has a high youth unemployment rate, and even before the coronavirus pandemic there was a lot of competition for jobs.
鈥淐ouncil needs a plan to push for sustainable green jobs which offer people security and decent conditions.
鈥淚t can be done in tandem with a push for good services. This why I鈥檓 running under the slogan 鈥楩or Community Need鈥.鈥
[Sarah Hathway will host an online campaign launch on August 30. For more information, visit on Facebook or email sarah.hathway@gmail.com.]