Katie Whelan has grown up in Queanbeyan and spent her life tuning into the rumbling of local politics.
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Her mother, Sue Whelan, is a long-serving councillor and received an Order of Australia Medal for her lifetime of community service.
It seemed natural to the 30 year old to run on her mother’s ticket at a time of great change for the district.
“It is my fist time standing,” she said. “Because we are now a larger area we need to make sure we have a team that looks at Queanbeyan but looks at the entire region – support everybody in every part of the community.”
After school at Queanbeyan West then Queanbeyan High, Katie pursued further training in disability and child care.
She is passionate about inclusion.
If elected, she would push to establish a youth council and improve social media engagement with young people to promote discussion about their needs in the local area.
“I would like to look at removing any barriers to community participation,” she said.
“Talking to the community there are some things around youth leisure time, roads and rubbish collection that need attention.”
Improving pedestrian access, expanding library services and boosting local commerce in major hubs were priorities.
She hopes to look at footpaths and access ways to ensure any wheelchair and pram users could get around easily.
Establishing a mobile library service that offered internet, printing and borrowing services at regular times each week would bring useful services to residents outside the main towns.
