A LEGACY of good decisions is Mundaring councillor Luke Ellery’s hope for the Perth Hills where he grew up as he plans to renominate for the upcoming local government elections.
As a third-generation hills boy, Cr Ellery explored the creeks at different reserves to look for frogs with his grandparents, rode the heritage trail going to the train park and simply enjoyed being surrounded by nature.
“The funny thing is, growing up, a lot of the things that I remember haven’t changed,” he said.
“There’s still those reserves, there’s still the train park, there’s still the heritage trail.”
He hopes his children and future generations will be able to enjoy the same childhood he did.
“I’d love a world where families flourish in the hills and have a similar childhood to my own and my parents,” he said.
“I think to achieve that, we’ve got to rethink how we approach things like housing, aged care, multi-generational living, zoning, generating income from things other than rates so that people can actually afford to live here.
“While making sure the environment is protected so that there are still trails and reserves.”
Cr Ellery worked as an engineering consultant in the energy space for seven years and has recently moved to a new role.
“I’d be doing front-end engineering so you’re at an early stage going, ‘How do we make decisions that will give you the best economic outcomes but are also more sustainable?’,” he said.
“I’m moving into a new role now as an infrastructure sustainability specialist and it’s just holding those in contention.
“Sometimes they aren’t always competing, sometimes what’s better for the environment is better for the economy.”
Cr Ellery said being a proud new dad, the decision to run for another term didn’t come lightly and he wouldn’t have been able to do it without his supportive wife.
“Four years is a long time but not a long time in local government,” he said.
“In your first term, sometimes you’re only just getting things onto the agenda or getting things in place.
“There are dozens of things that have started and I’d like to see them through if given the privilege.”
