Sutherland Shire Councillor and former mayor Phil Blight has decided not to standing in the election due in September this year after being elected for six consecutive terms and serving on the council for 25 years.
Cr Blight has been a Labor Councillor since 1991, which included two terms as Mayor in 2002-2004 and 2010-2011.
‘’After being elected for so many terms, I feel that the time is right to step aside,’’ Cr Blight said.
‘’My family shared my commitment to the council, and shared the sacrifices that went with it. I will now be able to spend more time with them.
‘’I have enjoyed my time as a Councillor, and have always felt that it is an honour to represent our local community.
Local issues of the day convinced me to seek election to the Council. A major factor at that time was the State government intention to sell public land for medium density development in Gymea Bay.
‘’After starting a campaign to turn the land into a park and with tremendous support from the community, the Carr government gave the land to the council and it is now the wonderful and very popular Old School Park.
‘’I was very pleased to be part of a group who worked hard to gain Centenary Park in Miranda for the public.
To see the success of Hazelhurst Retreat is satisfying after being Chair of the steering committee, which initiated the model that evolved into Hazelhurst, and then finalised the design.
‘’As Sutherland grows and changes, I hope that residents value our heritage, as there is a great deal from the past in which we can take pride.
‘’I have worked on Council with some excellent people, both councillors and staff.
‘’Shire residents are fortunate to have such a professional and committed staff under the guidance of John Rayner, the General Manager for 24 of my 25 years.
‘’The staff have helped me whenever necessary and always present good advice for the council to consider in making decisions.
‘’As a Councillor, you can never expect to always agree with decisions made, but I am very disappointed to leave with the current LEP (Local Environment Plan) which is going to drastically change the shire to be like a concentrated inner urban area with all the problems of such an area.
The shire doesn’t have the public transport infrastructure of the inner city and this council has no plans to provide improved roads and parking to cope with the population increase.
‘’This is disappointing after the amazing campaign in the 1990s to keep the name ‘Shire’ as we considered ourselves to be a shire and not a city.
‘’I would like to see constitutional recognition for local government being the next step to progress Sutherland and local government in general, so that it can provide for the needs of the residents in the future.’’
