Hi, I'm Ali and I'm running for Mildura Rural City Council.
BACK TO BUSINESS
I am a Mum, Wife, Lawyer, Social Worker, Business Owner, former Councillor and Deputy Mayor, and former Independent State MP with a passion for Mildura and a flair for collaborative politics. I'm a 4th generation Sunraysia girl (and a 6th generation Mallee girl). I know our community well. I lived in Mildura until I was 5, Irymple until I was 13, Sunnycliffs until I was 19 - and Birdwoodton for a couple of stints in between. I purchased my first home in Mildura when I was 27, and my second home in Nichols Point when I was 39. I work in the Kings Billabong Ward, my husband, Ben, works in the Henderson Park Ward, my son, Jed, goes to school in the Sunset Ward and we do most of our shopping in the Karadoc Ward. I have a direct stake in every corner of our municipality, and I know how to make it politically relevant. I have the record and results to prove it. This includes securing the most State Government investment for health, sport, housing, tourism, roads and schools in local living memory. After a two-year hiatus from politics, I am excited to get back to business, starting with the fundamentals: rates, roads and rail. Game on!
- AC :)
CANDIDATE FOR MILDURA WETLANDS WARD
HEY WETLANDIANS! LET'S GO!
I am connected to every part of this municipality and Mildura is the epicentre. It's where I was born, raised (at least for the first 5 years), bought my first house and spent countless hours living, working and playing. I'm excited to be running in Mildura and especially excited to be running in Mildura Wetlands Ward.
Mildura Wetlands is comprised largely of the people I know best – residents and families. I work with families every day. Their needs drive my professional and political work.
If elected, I would fight for local roads and public transport including passenger rail, for better disability and autism support, for a whole-of-council approach to children and young people, for a Kittyhawk Museum honouring our war history, and for regional rate reform, to address a major, local cost-of-living pressure.
As State MP, I secured record investment for health, sport, housing, tourism, roads and schools. As Councillor for Mildura Wetlands Ward, I would fight just as hard. If you have any questions, ideas, feedback or would like to join the campaign, send me an email at cupper4council@gmail.com or call 0427 873 922.
WETLANDS WISHLIST
If you live in Mildura Wetlands Ward, submit an action or idea to the Wishlist!
You can make your Wetlands Wishlist submission via email at cupper4council@gmail.com, call or text Ali on 0427 873 922, or click on the button below.
#WetlandsIsAVibe #TheMightyDucks #Cupper4Council
Mildura South Future Ready (MSFR)
Media Statement - 18/10/24
Mildura South’s explosion in growth has produced many benefits for the immediate community, and the region, but it has also meant very dangerous roads. To fix it, we need Mildura South Future Ready (MSFR).
MSFR would replicate the original Mildura Future Ready (MFR) model by including 4 key projects:
1. Traffic lights at the intersection of Deakin Avenue and Sixteenth Street.
2. A full traffic study and works at the intersection of Deakin Avenue and Fifteenth Street;
3. The Benetook Freight Link (Truck Bypass); and
4. A bridge crossing at Monak.
The first two projects would help manage local traffic flows, while the second two would help divert freight from Deakin Avenue altogether.
MFR was Council’s most effective advocacy project in decades. As a councillor, I helped shape it, and as a State MP, I helped realise it, with almost $20 million secured across three MFR projects, including $10 million for Mildura South Sporting Precinct.
In addition, I secured twice the roads funding that my predecessor secured during his party’s four years in Government. But there’s still so much work to be done.
It is painfully clear that the intersections at Fifteenth Street and Sixteenth Street are ill-equipped to handle the current volume of traffic, let alone future volumes when thousands more dwellings will be established, along with additional services like Mildura South Primary School Kindergarten.
It is important to note that the volume of traffic, and the inadequacy of current roads infrastructure, isn’t just a safety risk for the residents and families of Mildura South, but for everyone. This section of road is the main gateway to the airport, and the major connector between smaller towns around Mildura.
To fix the problem we need a big vision and a plan of action, to better manage the flow of passenger vehicles and divert freight.
If elected as Councillor for Mildura Wetlands Ward, I will be pitching the MSFR advocacy package to my Council colleagues and I have the skills and experience to get the job done for Mildura Wetlands Ward and the entire region.
Ali Cupper
Candidate for Mildura Wetlands Ward
FIGHT LIKE WE MEAN IT, TO FIX REGIONAL RATES
Cut the cost of living
Remember RateGate? It was our statewide campaign to fix regional rates. We need to get it back on the national agenda. Big structural reform doesn't happen by itself. If we want to address the biggest cost of living pressure facing our rural and regional community, we have to fight for rate reform like we mean it. That means taking the RateGate fight to the Federal Government and not letting up.
FIGHT LIKE WE MEAN IT, FOR SAFE ROADS
Safe for families, efficient for business
Remember the Sh*t Roads campaign? It might not have been the most eloquent name, but it made a bloody powerful point - and the point stands. The Mildura LGA has a massive road network that costs an enormous amount to maintain. The more roads funding we can extract from State and Federal Governments, the less our ratepayers need to shoulder to maintain our roads to a decent standard. From the Calder and Sturt Highways that link us to Melbourne and Adelaide, to the dusty dirt backroads of our smallest farming communities, our community's safety, and our economy's efficiency, rely on Council providing strong advocacy and strategic management of our roads. It isn't simply a bureaucratic matter to be managed by Council staff behind the scenes. Councillors must be actively involved and politically engaged on the issue at all times.
FIGHT LIKE WE MEAN IT, FOR RAIL
Connected communities thrive
Remember Mildura Future Ready? It was a landmark Council advocacy campaign that rolled three excellent projects into one overarching project to turbo-charge tourism and job creation in our region. During my term as State MP, I secured millions of dollars for the Riverfront, millions for Mildura Sporting Precinct, hundreds of thousands of brokerage dollars for the Mildura Motorsport Precinct and fought like I meant it for the train. But in relation to the train, Council's efforts fell off the wagon. We need to get Council back on board the train campaign. Passenger rail is not a luxury, it is an essential service, and Mildura is the only major regional centre in Victoria, if not Australia, without a passenger rail connection to its capital city. It is a scandal, and Council should be leading the charge to address it.
The Big Picture
Politics. What's the point?
The point is to improve our quality of life.
Quality of life means keeping more income in your pocket.
It means having access to great services at home.
It means being safe on our roads.
And it means being well connected to our capital city.
We are a proud, hard-working region. We don’t expect Council to do everything for us. We just need it to get the big things right.
That means leading the charge on rate reform. High regional rates are one of the biggest cost-of-living pressures in our community. We need to fight for rate reform like we mean it.
It means making sure our roads are in good shape – ensuring funding is distributed equitably across the LGA, and lobbying State and Federal Governments for more.
It means fighting for dignity and equality for our region, for a decent slice of the State and Federal funding pies. This includes a sustained effort to fight for the return of passenger rail.
We need a Council that leads the charge on the big things that matter.
We need a Council that is collaborative and politically relevant. I can help make that happen, but I can’t do it alone. Team AC needs you! Sign up to the campaign to make Mildura relevant again at www.cupper4council.com.au. Game on!