dr Steve Peterson

I am grateful for being elected in September 2024. I will retain these priorities visible on my website so that interested parties can observe me acting on them;
 
Better road and footpaths
•    My proposal is for an additional $100,000 for the resealing and heavy patching budget.
•    This will extend the life of the roads delaying the need for a full and expensive renewal
•    Additionally I propose increasing the footpath budget by $50,000 when budget in surplus.
•    Currently Orange spends only 10% of our internal revenue on roads and footpaths.
•    Committing extra funding means more money spent on core community concerns and less spent wastefully elsewhere.
•    Focused spending improves the roads and footpaths that you use and spends your rates where they most need to be spent.

Boost community oversight for major projects
•    I will continue to seek regular updates on progress and financial details on these projects which I pushed for last year.
•    Additionally I propose the creation of a major project committee to increase community oversight.
•    These projects involve large sums of money and any failures or blowouts could significantly impact council's bottom line.
•    Various community groups are invested in these projects and need to stay informed about progress for their own planning. 
•    Having community involvement in planning reduces the risk of expensive changes being required later.
•    This would improve the final project outcomes and helps prevent your rates being spent on cost overruns.

Launch Mount Canobolas recreational plan.
•    My proposal would be to launch a broad recreational plan for Mount Canobolas, seeking community feedback about all potential recreational activities beyond only mountain biking.
•    A recreational plan gives an opportunity for a fresh start in discussions with groups concerned by the previous proposal.
•    A broader plan would have more community involvement and support.
•    This would be more likely to attract grant funding to pay for additional infrastructure than proposals for a single sport. 
•    This would increase the recreational activities available for you in your local area. 

Continue advocating for Orange's water security
•    I will keep advocating for priority water infrastructure projects identified in the Central West joint organization document.
•    I will keep continued pressure to complete Blackman’s swamp stormwater harvesting project.
•    No state or federal MP whom I meet will leave town without hearing about expanding local water infrastructure.
•    The next drought is coming and Orange's population has grown by thousands of residents compared to the last drought.
•    Orange will not have representation in state or federal government for some time so lobbying will need to come from council.
•    This is crucial to minimise the impact of the next drought on you and your family.

Enhance access for all
•    I will maintain my focus on making public and private infrastructure in Orange accessible to all.
•    My quadriplegia gives me a particular passion, interest and insight in accessibility issues.
•    The need will never be completely met so will always be on my radar.
•    This benefits you as accessible infrastructure will ultimately be something you and your family needs.

Let ratepayers decide on council size
•    My proposal is for a poll at the next election to ask if the community wishes to reduce the number of councillors from 12 to 9.
•    If councillors trust the community’s judgement to elect us, we should also trust community judgement regarding numbers.
•    A vote in this council (7/2/23) had only 3 councillors including myself support a community poll on this issue.
•    Reduced numbers would align Orange with similar center's such as Bathurst (9), Dubbo (10), Cowra (9) and Wagga (9).
•    A reduction would save approximately $100000 a year.
•    This gives you the decision on how many councillors you feel you require.