Wingello owner-builder Jesse Fitzpatrick will meet with 52 community groups over 52 weeks in the lead-up to the Wingecarribee Council elections, scheduled for September 2024.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Fitzpatrick, who grew up in the Highlands, is the father of three children aged under four years. His youngest is just 10 weeks old.
"They're all fourth-generation Highlanders," he said. "We were all born at the same hospital."
The 31-year-old former student of St Michael's Primary School and Chevalier College met and married his wife Kaysey, formerly of Bowral High School, in the Highlands.
READ MORE:
Despite watching most of his peers pack up and leave after they finished their schooling: "to chase university and a six figure salary," Mr Fitzpatrick stayed.
"I've always worked for myself. I was a residential builder for 10 years, but I don't do that anymore. These days we just buy blocks of land in estates and build spec homes for sale," he said
Throwing his hat in the ring for the Wingecarribee Council elections in 2024 is the first time Mr Fitzpatrick has put himself on a public platform.
"It came about because of the long DA-wait times, and because I complained and rumbled for 10 years," he said.
"Basically I thought that instead of grumbling, I would put my hand up."
He says he wants to be part of a team that: "makes the Highlands a place that my kids don't want to leave."
That Highlands would include basic things for the younger generations, which is why Mr Fitzpatrick's campaign is aimed at the working-class community.
"Because if we have a thriving business economy then the kids can make money, and they can ultimately choose to stay here," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
If there is no hope of making "decent" money in the Highlands then young people will continue to be forced to leave, according to Mr Fitzpatrick.
He believes in a version of the Highlands that has quality, well paying jobs on offer.
"The Highlands I grew up with was a quaint town that was a tourist attraction. But now that we've broken into that little bit more of a modern world, with some big chains and larger brand companies, it's taken away some of that country rural appeal," he said.
"I've heard from a lot of shop owners that tourists aren't as happy. And it needs to be addressed."
However, that's life in a modern world, according to Mr Fitzpatrick.
"We need to not slowly degrade the town, by not backing our small businesses, and our community's economy," he said.
"There needs to be a balance between quaint town and tourism."
Southern Highland News asked Mr Fitzpatrick to comment on the sacked Wingecarribee Council of 2022.
"Where did it go wrong? Precisely where it did go wrong," he said.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the ousted council had been fuelled by "ego" and had lost sight of the purpose of representing the community.
He also said that the administration, overseen by Viv May, was a "necessary break".
"I think the gap is good. A lot of people hate on Mr May, but my opinion is that the break was needed," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"We need to get back to democracy, but needed time to for the operations to heal."
Mr Fitzpatrick is a local who supports the area being "GDP (gross domestic product) competitive".
"If our businesses dry up we literally just wait in line to die," he said.
"I'm all for fresh people coming."
However, he's running as a "local" who has watched the Highlands change.
"I know what we're missing, and what we're lacking, and what we need," Mr Fitzpatrick said. "I would love nothing more than to see the area move from an aging demographic to families.
"I think it's good for a born and bred local to sit on council because they have perspective," he said.
Families represent middle-aged people who run the businesses and their children, which are the Highlands' future, according to Mr Fitzpatrick.
As for what stands the Highlands apart from other local government areas, Mr Fitzpatrick says it's "undeniably" one of the most beautiful areas in Australia year-round.
Which is why development and DA (development application) wait times should be at the forefront of voter's minds.
Mr Fitzpatrick pointed at Goulburn Mulwaree Council's six to 10 week DA turnaround time and said: "that's the sweet spot." However, Wingecarribee DAs by comparison take several months.
"The DAs have been terrible, but they've always been terrible," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"I met with (Wingecarribee Council) and every problem I brought up they apparently have a solution for."
That includes a new website, call backs, and DA turnover times in general.
"I've got to give them the benefit of the doubt, but a lot of the excuses don't seem to line up when other councils do it all so easily," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
However, he says that if the public knew how to better interact with council and its councillors, then things would run "more smoothly".
As such, transparency is his first goal.
"We need to fix it so that people know we're a voice that applies pressure to the top structure of council," he said.
"We don't get involved in the incidentals of it."
He describes his campaign as early but "ambitious" over 52 weeks.
"I plan to meet with 52 community groups, and I've already started," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"I met with the youth officer at the PCYC and I've reached out to lots of groups around the Highlands via Facebook."
He said this would form his "resume" for the role of local councillor.
"I've walked the shops of Bowral and I will visit every single shop in the Highlands, even to the far reaches," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"I want to do more than your average eight-week pretty campaign."
Of his age, Mr Fitzpatrick said his intention was to represent the whole shire, but that he was there for the "battlers" that are generating the income: "the working class families."
"Across the board it's the middle class families that are struggling, which you wouldn't expect," he said.
"They're the families with the two jobs and kids at home. They're struggling to pay their mortgage and buy food each week."
However, they're the "people the Highlands needs to survive". And they're the people Mr Fitzpatrick is running to represent.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark our website
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Google News
Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular newsletters
Sally Foy
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
