Sutherland Shire’s former internal ombudsman Ray Plibersek has been chosen in the Labor team to contest the council election on September 10.
The team also includes former senator Michael Forshaw, who joins ex-state MP for Miranda Barry Collier in seeking a return to politics at local government level.
The other members of the team are serving councillor Peter Scaysbrook and Diedree Steinwall, who resigned from the present council to contest the federal election after party officials advised a potential conflict of interest.
Mr Forshaw will represent A Ward, Mr Collier B Ward, Mr Plibersek C Ward, Ms Steinwall D Ward and Mr Scaysbrook E Ward.
“We’ve put together a committed team of residents for Council with extensive experience across all three levels of government, which, as far as I know, is unique for local politics”, Mr Collier said.
Mr Plibersek, a solicitor and brother of Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek, was the council’s internal ombudsman for seven years until July 2013.
The office was closed following a recommendation in a strategic review of the council's operations by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Mr Forshaw was a senator from 1994 to 2011.
Ms Steinwall is a high school teacher in the shire and Mr Scaysbrook a small business owner.
In a statement, Mr Plibersek said he was committed to improving transparency and fairness in council decision-making processes on development applications.
“The council needs to urgently address the problems of overdevelopment, overcrowding and inadequate shire infrastructure”, he said.
Mr Forshaw said large-scale development had been allowed without proper consideration of its impact on the community and local road infrastructure.
“Despite the closure of Cronulla Fisheries and the Kurnell Refinery, the current Liberal-controlled council has no plans to promote new business and employment opportunities in the shire,” he said.
Mr Collier said the Liberal team had “implemented a ‘pro-development at all costs’ policy, ignoring genuine community concerns and denying residents their democratic right to have a real say in our shire’s future”.
