8 Sep 2024

Clr Kellie Darley, Community Champions, City of Parramatta – Dundas Ward

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What is your name, political party and electorate?

Clr Kellie Darley, Community Champions, City of Parramatta – Dundas Ward

Are you running for mayor and if so, why?

Our Lord Mayor is still selected by the majority of Councillors, after the election. One of my priorities once re-elected is to deliver on community feedback to hold a referendum on whether residents want to directly elect the Lord Mayor.

Tell us about your background both personally and professionally

I have 30 years leadership experience, mostly in senior roles in the community development and public health sectors. This is backed by extensive education – Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University, Master of Arts in Applied Anthropology and Development Studies from Macquarie University and Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney.
I am co-founder and Director of ParraParents and a community representative on the Parramatta River Catchment Group. I also co-ordinate numerous other community initiatives including regular community litter clean ups. I was honoured to be awarded Parramatta Woman of the Year (2020) and City of Parramatta Volunteer of the Year for the Australia Day Awards (2019) for my contribution to our City.
I am a mother of two primary school aged boys and have raised my family in the Dundas Ward with my husband. I love bushwalking, chasing waterfalls, cooking desserts, relaxing in a hammock and spending time by the water.

What are some things you love about your electorate?

I love that Parramatta is a city in nature, with people from all over the world calling it home. The potential of Parramatta to transform into a leading sustainable, innovative global city, that celebrates its heritage and natural beauty, is exciting. Where else in the world can you go 10mins from the bustling CBD and be swimming in a gorgeous freshwater lake surrounded by bush?! I also love that we have kilometres of cycleway and walkways along Parramatta River, a network of bushwalks, so many great restaurants, Riverside Theatres and significant recent investment in public transport that we shall soon start to be able to benefit from.

What do you believe are the 3 main issues affecting your electorate and why?

    1. Increased density without the supporting infrastructure – the rapid increase in duplexes and other dwellings is putting a noticeable strain on our local streets and community infrastructure, with increased traffic, parked vehicles but not the necessary community support
    2. Outdated recreational spaces, like old playgrounds, that need to be upgraded to cater for a mix of ages, interests and abilities and to also support our community to connect
    3. Residents are wanting to reduce their environmental footprint but don’t feel there’s the adequate support and infrastructure to do this.

What are the 3 key things you plan to achieve if elected?

Community Champions aims to improve the standard of representation by staying active in our community, keeping residents informed, responding to feedback, and making transparent, evidence-based decisions in the best interests of our community. I am strongly focused on making sure Council does the ‘basics’ really well, from quickly filling potholes and
cleaning our town centres to consistently great customer service and fixing drainage at our sports fields. If elected, 3 key things I will work to deliver are:
  1. Open Spaces Plan to enable a complementary network of multi-functional open spaces, including more recreational spaces for teenagers
  2. Safer roads, with improved traffic management and active transport connections
  3. Greater support to reduce our waste and the impacts of our changing climate

What about your long term vision for the area?

Parramatta has so much potential and is well placed to be a leading innovative, sustainable and caring city. This is only possible though if we are focused on building on what makes Parramatta unique, rather than becoming a cookie cutter global city. The combination of our heritage, diverse community, Parramatta River and network of bushland as well as being in the heart of Sydney is at the centre of what makes Parramatta great.
Now is the time to ensure that development is community-centred, our CBD is a hub of activity with entertainment, cultural and retail precincts and our neighbourhoods share in the vibrancy of our transforming City and any impacts are mitigated wherever possible. It is also vitally important that our changing community feels respected, well informed and works with Council to deliver on our aspirations.
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