THE POST OF BROKEN PROMISES

By Tahlia Kelso, Our Newcastle Candidate for Ward 4.

For the entirety of my time in the Beresfield branch of the Labor Party, it felt like we only talked about Bero Pool. That might sound strange, but everyone up here is worried one day council will come and shut it down. The pool was funded by the community. Decades ago, working class residents (the people Labor is meant to represent) went door to door collecting money to build it.

So when the Labor council announced they wanted to privatise it, our branch was unanimous in our opposition to the plan. We spent months fighting and pleading with the Labor councillors Deahnna and Liz (the Lord Mayor never came to our meetings). But they didn’t listen. Then when the deal was done we turned our attention to getting the swim school back. The same thing happened. Months and months of arguing and pleading for council to say it wasn’t possible and that there were swim schools in Maitland.

Today Councillor Richardson is trying to look like she’s listened to our community. She hasn’t because she can’t even listen to branch members in her own party.

Bero and Tarro haven’t had a councillor from our area since before Sonia Hornery was on council. Across Newcastle, we need councillors who will listen to their communities. But we need them more than ever in the forgotten suburbs like Bero and Tarro.

The photo in Deahnna’s post: the pledge that Labor made to not privatise the pool before the last election. The post also referenced the solar heating that they aren’t delivering yet despite having the money for months.