AFTER eight years of representing the residents of Forrestfield, Stephen Price is running for another term as the Labor candidate and says there is still work to do.

“My reasons for wanting to do this to begin with, was to try and help people where I could to improve some of the infrastructure and the opportunities we have in the area for residents,” Mr Price said.

“It’s because I’ve been able to do some of those things, and there’s still a lot more to do, that I’m really keen to keep going.”

Prior to starting his two terms in 2017 as the Forrestfield MLA, Mr Price said he worked FIFO at a gold mine which was followed by working as a union official for about 10 years.

He said he enjoyed helping people deal with their problems and wanted to continue this line of work in a different field.
“Which is why politics came in as something to consider,” he said.

During his eight years as the representative for Forrestfield Mr Price said he had been heavily focused on community groups and is most proud of the $22 million which was invested into Darling Range Sports College.

“If you get a good education, you’ve got opportunities that should flow from that later on in life.

“Which then gives you the opportunity to gain employment and progress onto other opportunities.”

Mr Price plans to push for further investment into schools to improve the facilities and resources available, which allows older schools to be brought up to a higher standard.

If re-elected Mr Price said schools will still be a primary focus in addition to transport and health.

Mr Price said although Forrestfield was close to everything, the suburb was bookended by Midland, Cannington, Armadale and Belmont.

“There’s a lot of reasons people have to travel to attend services, meetings or appointments.

“So making sure we’ve got good transport infrastructure allows people to do that because not everyone has a car and not everyone has a licence.”

With heavy freight routes such as Tonkin Highway and Roe Highway also crossing the suburb, Mr Price said it’s more reason to prioritise travel.

Mr Price said the ageing population in the area means health is a key part of future-planning.

“There’s a shortage of aged care facilities in the area.

“There’s not enough beds for the projected future.

“Staffing is always a challenge at all different levels but it’s something we’re aware of and it’s something we have to address.”

Mr Price described Forrestfield as a beautiful and established part of WA which has seen growth throughout the years but is still unknown and undervalued.

“I’d like to see it continue to grow and for people to benefit from that growth.

“So the growth not to be detrimental to the beautiful lifestyle that people have.

“So it’ll be well-planned, well-controlled and everyone will benefit from that.