Greens for Orange City Council candidates Haidee Edwards, AnneMaree McLaughlin and David Mallard

Hi, I’m David and I’m the lead Greens candidate for Orange City Council, on the lands of the Wiradjuri people.

I moved to the Central West twenty years ago and have lived in Orange since 2009. I’ve worked as a lecturer educating local students at Charles Sturt University, providing policy and campaign advice to a member of the New South Wales Parliament, building community engagement with a local mental health service, and I now work as a union organiser.

Our local Greens Councillors have built a reputation as dedicated and progressive representatives of our local community. They’ve worked successfully with the council and community groups to deliver improvements and protect important services in our region, from stormwater harvesting to saving local parks to making the CBD more vibrant and the city more liveable and sustainable. I’m proud to lead the Greens team at this election and seek to carry on their work.

The next few years will be a critical period for Orange and the region as we face increasing challenges, including the impacts of climate change, housing affordability pressures, growing needs for seniors living and care options, and more services for young families. We need a Council that will work for the good of the whole community, plan for environmentally sustainable development to meet the region’s future needs, and ensure all residents have easy access to services, green space and community facilities.

I’m standing up for:
– A Council that provides community leadership on climate action and environmental protection, for an Orange that reduces emissions, values green space and street trees, and innovates in water sensitive planning.
– Addressing the growing problems with housing affordability, and ensuring Council does all it can to ensure there is sufficient affordable and social housing across the entire city, and that planning meets the needs of the community rather than being driven by developer interests.
– Planning for a sustainable, liveable and inclusive Orange, providing for community and social needs such as footpaths, parks and community services in every local neighbourhood, along with a vibrant CBD.