Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate the many candidates who were successful in the local government elections held across my electorate of O'Connor this week. After the recent WA redistribution O'Connor is now home to more local governments than any other electorate across the nation. There are 57 all up, ranging from Wiluna in the northern Goldfields down to Nannup in the state's deep south.

Around O'Connor I work closely with mayors, shire presidents and councillors, all of whom passionately advocate for their communities. The success of this advocacy shows in this month's announcement of funding for nine projects widely spread across O'Connor under the Building Better Regions Fund. Projects were funded from Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields through to Merredin and Pingelly in the Wheatbelt; down to Esperance on the south coast; across to Bremer Bay, Ongerup and Albany in the Great Southern and over to Manjimup in the South West.

Perhaps less heralded is the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program Phase 3, which will inject an average of $1.02 million across every one of O'Connor's 57 shires. This program recognises the role of councils as the closest tier of government to the people in accelerating Australia's recovery from the pandemic. During the COVID crisis local leadership across O'Connor has been exceptional. My commiserations to those elected members who have helped their communities emerge from COVID and did not get up at this week's elections. Congratulations to the candidates who did win and will be at the frontline of O'Connor's continued economic recovery.