10 January 2014

Council gets priorities wrong

Peter is with parents and children at the playground at Mawson Park, Hillarys.

To read the Joondalup Times article on this matter, please click here

Peter Katsambanis, Member for North Metropolitan Region, has questioned the priorities of the City of Joondalup after the Council approved expenditure of more than $463,000 on several ‘entry statements’.

“I have been contacted by many concerned local residents who rightfully believe that money should be spent on more important projects,” Mr Katsambanis said.

“One of the regular requests I hear from local families is the desire to have more shade protection at local playgrounds, so that our children can play safely without the risk of suffering burns from either hot play equipment or from the sun.

“The question I put to Council, on behalf of concerned parents, is why is the City prioritising these extravagant symbols ahead of the protection of our children?

“Mawson Park in Hillarys and Seacrest Park in Sorrento are two very popular local parks where children have no shade protection at all while using the play equipment.

“These parks attract families from all over the City of Joondalup but the expensive playgrounds in the parks effectively become unusable during the summer months as the equipment becomes too hot and parents fear that their children might be at serious risk of getting burnt.

“I am aware that the City of Joondalup has received numerous requests from local ratepayers over the past few years to provide more shade protection for these playgrounds, but the issue seems to have been placed into the too-hard basket.

“However, Council seems to be able to find almost half a million dollars for a vanity project that could have been completed at significantly less cost if more modest signage had been installed.

“If these entry statements really do reflect the aspirations of the City and the people who run it, perhaps the real message is Joondalup wastes ratepayers’ funds on unnecessary symbolism whilst ignoring other more important priorities like protection for our children,” Mr Katsambanis added.