Alexandra Falls
NEW member for Seymour Cindy McLeish is a very busy woman.
She moved into her new office, on Wallis Street in Seymour, before Christmas and is very surprised at how many groups and residents of the electorate have contacted her already.
“People are calling, writing and emailing their concerns, as well as stopping by,” said Cindy.
“Things are definitely ramping up.”
It has perhaps not helped that Ms McLeish is entering into office on an obvious learning curve after 11 years of a Labor candidate in Seymour.
“We need to determine what’s what,” she said.
But despite the learning curve, or perhaps because of it, Cindy McLeish has hit the ground running.
Cindy McLeish also faces the process of addressing the number of election promises, small and large, that the Liberal party laid on the table for the Seymour electorate.
“We made a number of commitments and we intend to deliver,” Cindy said.
These commitments include the Kilmore-Wallan Bypass, a 24-hour ambulance station, $200,000 funding for Wallan Secondary College’s ovals and other projects, such as a gazebo for Broadford.
Unfortunately, Ms McLeish said, the entire State Government is in the process of settling in and the wheels are turning quite slowly.
“I would love to give it (the funding) now so that they can get onto their planning straight away, but it’s a slower process than the public realises,” she said.
There are a number of big issues Ms McLeish expects to go head to head with this year.
Firstly, the availability of health services in the electorate, or the lack thereof, is something she cites as very important.
Cindy already began visiting all rural doctors and hospitals within her electorate to gain a full understanding of their individual health issues.
She hopes to address heath service issues early in the year with the Minister for Health currently looking to approach country health services and develop a new plan.
Infrastructure, particularly road infrastructure, is also something Ms McLeish wants to tackle in the electorate’s growth areas early on, before it becomes out of hand, such as in other high growth areas like Whittlesea.
“Roads don’t grow without a proper service plan in place,” she said.
Bushfire recovery in all affected communities is another issue Ms McLeish is passionate about.
“Services are due to be withdrawn and that’s a concern because the need is very much there,” she said.
As far as the Kilmore-Wallan bypass is concerned there appears to be a long road of planning and development ahead - no pun intended.
Ms McLeish is hoping to consult with the community planning minister, but predicts it will be ‘a few months before anything concrete takes place.’
But while the new member for Seymour clearly has a lot of heavyweight issues to fight this year, she remains positive that with good management she will be able to dedicate herself evenly across her electorate.
Cindy asks that the people who have contacted her with local issues, or those still yet to do so, not to hesitate to attempt to bring their problems and their solutions to her attention.
“People have brought ideas as well as concerns, and I like to hear both,” she said.
She also accepts that in her role as the State MP for Seymour, collaboration will be vital.
“I look forward to working closely with the shires, health services and businesses,” she said.
“It’s a two-way process. I believe that, to get things moving, people need to work together.”
