A year on from his appointment as Mandurah mayor, Rhys Williams said his view on the city’s priorities have not wavered but his approach had transitioned as “pressure points” were identified.
This week marks 12 months since he stepped into office and the Mandurah Mail sat down with Mr Williams to reflect on that time.
Since the election, Mr Williams said he had engaged in “thousands of conversations”, which he believed had helped identify areas that needed the most attention.
“I’m more clear today about what the pressure points are than I was 12 months ago. What’s generally been uplifting is that the agenda that we have really is in line with what those pressure points are,” he said.
Through his engagements across the year, Mr Williams said he believed the city was in a “crucial time” of growth and transition.
“People that live in Mandurah love Mandurah but there’s some uncertainty about the future,” he said.
“This is a crucial time for us because if we get the things right that we have before us then really it’s going to put us in really good stead to continue to be that significant West Australian city.
“However, if we don’t get it right then we run the risk of losing our relevance.
“I’ve never been more acutely aware of that than I am today, 12 months after the election.
I know that the community is strong but there are pockets of our community that are vulnerable. We need to do more to help those people.
- Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams
“The priorities haven’t changed. I still think it’s about that new story for Mandurah.
“I think it’s about positioning Mandurah in a way that makes the most of its potential.”
While he spoke highly of the new policies and upcoming developments, Mr Williams highlighted the flaws that needed to be addressed in Mandurah.
“I know that the community is strong but there are pockets of our community that are vulnerable,” he said.
“I know people are hurting in an economic sense. I know we haven’t recovered in Mandurah since the global economic crisis 10 years ago and there’s a lot of people in pain.
“We need to do more to help those people.”
This is a crucial time for us because if we get the things right that we have before us then really it’s going to put us in really good stead to continue to be that significant West Australian city. However, if we don’t get it right then we run the risk of losing our relevance.
- Mandurah mayor Rhys Williams
He admitted the hardest things to get used to were the pace of the role and public life in general.
“I had no background in public life so I underestimated the varying expectations of people,” he said.
“Everybody in the community wants to be part of making the place better. Everyone has a slightly different idea about what that looks like and how that takes shape. I had to learn pretty quickly that I couldn’t say yes to everything.”
He said the recently launched Mandurah Matters campaign was a great culmination of the council’s hard work since the election.
To read more about the campaign visit: Mayor Rhys Williams explains why ‘Mandurah Matters’
Follow Caitlyn Rintoul on Twitter via @caitlynrintoul.
