CGG councillor Michael Reymond focused on disability inclusion, hospital and road upgrades, crime prevention

A few months ago, Michael Reymond made the tough call to have his leg amputated after suffering years of pain following a plane crash he was lucky to survive. Described as a “man of steel,” his limb was badly damaged in the 2020 light plane crash at Karakin, near Lancelin, at his brother’s mango farm. Doctors were able to save his leg, but in April this year he decided to proceed with an amputation. Despite this, the City of Greater Geraldton councillor kept up to date with his council obligations while he was healing in hospital, which he says demonstrates his passion and dedication to serve his community. Cr Reymond is one of 16 candidates vying for four councillor spots up for grabs at next month’s election. With six years in local government under his belt, the retired engineer and air force veteran insists experience and knowledge in council is what drives efficiency and positive outcomes. With qualifications in finance and management, Cr Reymond said his professional experience was next to none when it came to crunch time. Cr Reymond said he initially ran for council in 2015 because at the time he was infuriated by rate increases, the management of council and performance of councillors. Recovering from his own brush with death and learning how to walk with crutches and a prosthesis has made Cr Reymond understand the importance of the council’s Disability Access and Inclusion Plan. “Suddenly I realised that you need ramps, you need disabled car parking spaces, steps are inappropriate, self-opening doors are good, proper toilets. It’s just so much a part of the necessity of people who are disabled,” he said. Diversity on council is important, but Cr Reymond said it was more crucial to have a successful leadership team and believed a good councillor spent lots of their time on council business and reading materials. “What is important is how you measure diversity and even whether it’s significant in the final outcome. There will only be eight councillors in the future so true diversity by any measure is going be even more difficult to achieve,” he said. Cr Reymond said council needed to be fully engaged with community organisations in a bid to eliminate homelessness. He said the City was already doing much work in this space to achieve zero people sleeping rough, including being the first in WA to start work on the AtoZ Homestretch program. Other issues front of mind for Cr Reymond include waste management. He said recycling, FOGO trial, curb side pick-up, waste separation, operational issues with the new Meru facilities and green waste bins were all costs that could have drastic effects on the budget. “We have to do more to bring the community alongside with the issues and costs,” he said.