Alice revels in village wonderland

Lining the walls, the shelves and every conceivable nook and cranny in Councillor Alice Cartan’s Thirroul home are endless novels, biographies, historical accounts and travel guides.

But the Ward 1 Wollongong City Councillor is too bogged down with business papers these days to indulge her passion. However she does manage to squeeze at least one in each month as part of her reading group commitments.

The monthly get-together with friends is as much a catch-up as a serious discussion about literature and another way the first-time councillor finds out what is concerning her constituents.

The “Mummy Mafia”, as she calls them, are the ones who notice broken footpaths and potential dangers.

“Because they have children, they’re more alert to dangers and often have a lot of ideas on how to fix things,” Cr Cartan said.

Before entering politics, Cr Cartan was certainly one of their number and it was her community activism which caught the attention of Cr Dave Martin who convinced her to run for council.

“I wanted to ensure development was reasonable rather than hell for leather,” she said.

Cr Cartan has taken up the fight for the redevelopment of Charles Harper Park in Helensburgh and says it is close to her heart.

“I couldn’t believe there were no toilets in a park right in the middle of town,” she said. “That really got to me.”

A council officer was expected to address the 31 August Neighbourhood Committee meeting to present the final designs for comment.

Cr Cartan said the streets of Helensburgh looked “really sad and neglected” and councillors would be considering repairs and improvements as part of the city’s public works budget.

The Dapto native and former social security officer is keen to preserve the village atmosphere in the northern suburbs and has been working with strategic planners to achieve a two-storey height limit along the coastal strip.

But the “enormous” size of Ward 1 made it difficult to address all issues.

“We have to make sure the works that are going to be done are acknowledged by council officers and the community as a priority,” Cr Cartan said.

“We’re getting smarter about we do but we can only do that with local knowledge.”

Cr Cartan can be contacted on 4267 4496  or 0407 934 545.