Confirmed Liberal candidate for the Newcastle Lord Mayoral race Jenny Barrie said she would look to use her broad business experience to help council support local small businesses.
The recently endorsed Liberal Party candidates for the December 4 local government elections were announced this week. Barrie will run for Lord Mayor and Ward 2, Blake Keating is at the top of the Ward 1 ticket, Katrina Wark leads the Ward 3 ticket, and Callum Pull heads up Ward 4.
Electrodry Storage manager Barrie, who has called Newcastle home for 30 years, said businesses would “need support from (a) council that understands their needs” when the area emerges from lockdown.
“If elected as mayor, my first priority will be to look into incentives for recovering small businesses and supporting job creation in the Newcastle LGA, to help kick-start our local economy.”
She added that the Liberals would “campaign to stop Labor from keeping control of council”.
In the mayoral race, Barrie will come up against Cr John Church (Newcastle Independents), Cr John Mackenzie (Greens) and Labor incumbent Cr Nuatali Nelmes.
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Lead Liberal candidate for Ward 1, Blake Keating, said he was contesting the election to put an end to unreasonable rate increases.
“We have seen seemingly endless rate increases since this Lord Mayor was elected in 2014, and it’s got to change.”
“People want to see their rates spent on important community infrastructure and facilities, rather than the Mayor’s pet projects. If the Liberals are elected, we will ensure every dollar council spends provides real value to ratepayers.”
Keating is President of the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation, and is involved in his Newcastle-based family business building windfarms throughout Australia.
Katrina Wark leads the Liberal ticket in Ward 3. Wark, who works in health, said council needed to “live within its means and deliver essential services for the community”.
Callum Pull, who works in retail while he completes a Bachelor of Communication, News and Digital Media at the University of Newcastle, is the top Liberal candidate for Ward 4.
The 20-year-old said council needed someone who would “represent the aspirations of young Novocastrians”.
“The dream of buying a home and raising a family right here in Newcastle is becoming more and more difficult because of council decisions, and we need to urgently address that,” Pull said.
“If the Liberal team is elected, we will focus on making housing more affordable and ensuring that the council deals with Newcastle’s population growth.”
After 13 years on council, Cr Brad Luke said he was proud to hand over the mantle to the new Liberal team.
Information source: Media release, Newcastle Liberals