Jayden Rivera has lived in Campbelltown all his life and knows how hot it can get in summer.
The leading candidate on the Greens ticket for the September 14 council elections says there are ways to make it a little cooler for Campbelltown residents.
“The fact is we won’t all be able to cool off at the billabong on a hot day,’’ he tells the South West Voice when we meet in a local café to discuss the policies the local Greens will be taking to the election.
The first is a push to increase the tree canopy of the local government area of Campbelltown.
“There should be a target aiming at an increase in the canopy by 40, 50 percent,’’ Mr Rivera says.
“New housing developments means trees being cut down, but they are not being adequately replaced, which will make Campbelltown hotter and hotter.
“That’s why we have to replace all the trees being cut down.’’
The local Greens have another suggestion they will push for if their man, Jayden Rivera, gets elected on September 14.
“On hot days why not keep the local pools and libraries open for longer so residents can pop in there to cool down,’’ he says.
Jayden Rivera was born in Campbeltown Hospital 30 years ago and went to St John the Evangelist primary school, followed by Mt Carmel High to Year 10, then Thomas Reddall High.
In Year 11 he dropped out to pursue his dream of becoming a hospitality manager, which is what he is doing right now.
“I decided school wasn’t for me,’’ he says.
“Plus I knew my career path was to be hospitality manager,’’ he says.
As for the Greens, it was also an easy decision, because as he says the party “isn’t focused on the money, they’re about supporting people’’.
But it was voting for the first time that hooked young Jayden for the Greens.
He went along to a polling booth at East Campbelltown public school where he met Ben Moroney, who was handing out for the Greens.
“After chatting with Ben I immediately thought, yes, this is for me, so I started handing out that day for the Greens,’’ he says.
Rivera ran in 2019 for the Greens in both the NSW and federal elections.
But you sense getting elected to serve the place where he was born and bred would be the ultimate.
“Having lived here all my life, seeing how Campbelltown has changed over the years, we need to have people on council to stand up for the environment,’’ he says.
“What makes Campbelltown amazing is these bushland areas, like a national park at Wedderburn, and Kentlyn, just a few minutes by car from anywhere in Campbelltown.
“It’s so important to protect these bushland areas along with our koalas.’’
He also wants to see more infrastructure on things like active transport.
“Campbelltown lacks in footpaths and cycleways, and it’s important we push for an increase there,’’ he says.
“I have lived and worked here all my life, I am proud of the place, and that’s why I want to get elected, to serve the people of Campbelltown,’’ he says.
PS. Just before publication, Jayden Rivera alerted the South West Voice to a rally happening tomorrow, July 6, 10.30-12 noon. The Macarthur Greens and Save Sydney Koalas rally will start from the Queen Street end of Koshigaya Park. One of the speakers will be NSW Greens MP Sue Higginson.
We need younger people in politics. Our generation and ones following won’t have it easy.
Tree cover is important and so is Kentlyn, Minto Heights, Airds, St Helens Park bushland areas.
It’s important to protect these areas. Lucky to have koalas in Campbelltown, they are so beautiful. We gotta protect their trees.
It is great that the Greens are proposing to plant more trees but they will have to do that in the older parts of the city as the majority of the lots in the new suburbs are barely big enough to build a home and certainly not big enough to grow any trees let alone one big enough to give any shade.
One of the original features of the first plan for the big city of Campbelltown was the protection of the major natural lungs of the city, the scenic hills on the west and the Georges River reserves to the east.
I absolutely agree! But I think any new private residential development moving forward will need to comply with a minimum 40% tree canopy coverage, as well as a minimum 30% long term affordable housing component.
Typical of the greens to put ideology ahead of economic realities. While the increased canopy cover and transport infrastructure is essential it will cost, as he said “isn’t focused on the money”. How about some costings and funding ideas also.
Hi Alex, of course it will cost, and there are definitely ways to ensure we have the funds available to fund this. Of course I’m focused on the money, but we need to shift our focus to community needs, rather than just private developers needs. And what our community needs is to be cooler by protecting our environment and increasing canopy, protecting our wildlife, and a better quality of liveability in our community, alongside guaranteed affordable and social housing.