Perth Voice Interactive

Rachel Naisbitt (right) has been doing an old-fashioned whistlestop tour—on a bike.

She’s been getting around town on her treadly campaigning for Vincent’s north ward, and says every day she hears new stories from residents, from those worried about how long planning permission takes for simple jobs like front garages, or local business owners who are severely limited in the advertising they can put up.

Formerly an investment banker who’s now doing a stint with the WA housing department, Ms Naisbitt strongly supports greening the town with more street trees.

She decided to run for council because she got a taste for community work after joining the local Rotary branch.

“I grew up in a country town where if you wanted anything done, you do it yourself,” she says, remembering the time the bakery burnt down and the town got together to rebuild it.

Ms Naisbitt is a Liberal party member seeking election to a council traditionally dominated by Labor faces, but says her membership is secondary to her community interests.

And she’s not afraid to speak her mind, opposing Barnett government plans to split Vincent or merge it with Perth. She says small councils are more responsive.

“At the moment if a ratepayer has an issue they can easily access the local council, but if we are merged with Perth or Stirling it will be so much harder to get to and speak to someone over local issues.”

by DAVID BELL