Projects and initatives for the next term of Council

This historic sports field is currently at capacity.  Not having lights means no training or matches can be scheduled after 7pm. As the home ground and training venue for the mighty and growing Port Darwin Football Club, players are quite literally left in the dark.  By installing field lighting, it has the potential to create a space that allows Fannie Bay Oval to be a multi sports hub that caters for different sports all year round. If elected I will work with the Club, peak sporting bodies and our local community to develop a plan to light up Fannie Bay Oval and meet the growing need for more space. We have done it at Bagot Oval and we can do it here too.

Communities need spaces to meet, chat and come together. So how can we make a beloved outdoor space even better? Just add coffee!

In all seriousness, this is issue that many people have shared with Justine Davis MLA and she has been championing in her electorate. I am very keen to support ideas that bring people together, especially in our beautiful Jingili Water Gardens. Somewhere that people can easily walk and ride to enjoy our great outdoor lifestyle.

Cafe in the Water Gardens, I’d like to see that!

And to those who have been asking - no, I still don’t drink coffee (even after 4 years on council and the arrival of the twins). But I do love a cup of tea!

We need more shady streets!

Over the last four years we have planted and given away thousands of plants to help cool and green our suburbs. But we still have many hot and dusty streets that are unattractive for walking and cycling to our local schools and shops.

Key roads in Chan Ward that people have raised with me include:

- Rothdale Road in Jingili

- Dick Ward Drive in Coconut Grove and Ludmilla

- Ross Smith Avenue in Fannie Bay

If re-elected, I commit to prioritising the planting of these roads to increase shade along our footpaths and bike paths.

There’s lots more to do to help build out cooler and greener outdoor capital!

More to do. Ready to deliver.

(Note AI used to generate a greener Ross Smith Avenue, with bonus street light in the middle of the road).

Tucked away in Millner, Bagot Park is so much more than a sports ground. It’s an oasis in the city where people walk, ride, play, relax and connect with nature. It’s also home to a surprising variety of local flora and fauna.

In 2022, we finalised a master plan to guide the park’s future - aiming to make it more accessible, more inclusive and even better for all ages and interests.

Since then, I’ve been proud to work with the Friends of Bagot Park and local user groups to help bring some of that vision to life. This has included upgrades to sporting infrastructure and a fantastic community tree planting day.

But there’s more to do!

If re-elected, I’m committed to progressing the next stages of the plan that includes:

• Outdoor exercise circuit and fitness stations

• More tree planting to create green buffers

• A new community hub

• A dedicated dog park

These upgrades will help ensure Bagot Park remains a vibrant, welcoming space for everyone — now and into the future.

Our Nightcliff and Rapid Creek Foreshore is a very special place where people come from all over the city to exercise, relax and spend time with friends and family.

Over the past four years on council, I have voted and advocated for better lighting, installing showers and bubblers, more trees and fencing a playground on the foreshore. But there is more to do!

Mike regularly visits the foreshore with his friends and family. He has identified many improvements that could be made including providing a shelter over this popular BBQ near the boat ramp. In just a single weekend, Mike collected a petition of over 300 signatures calling for more shade on the foreshore.

I assisted Mike to set up the petition and tabled it in Council. The report in response to the petition, from City of Darwin staff suggested $42k in tree planting and $1.3m in new shade structures could be added to the foreshore and elected members have referred these works to the next budget (see a copy of the report below).

My commitment to Chan Ward is that I will fight through the budget process to make sure these new foreshore shade structures and greater tree planting happens.

Great ideas and perspectives from our
community must be at the centre of our work at
Council. For transparency, I will support an Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey (not conducted since 2018), do more community ‘listening posts’ and continue to scrutinise proposals to ensure residents are at the centre of our decision-making