Phil Britten delivered a memorable speech at the City’s 2017 Youth Leadership Forum.
Camera IconPhil Britten delivered a memorable speech at the City’s 2017 Youth Leadership Forum. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

City of Joondalup council meeting hosts more than 130 local high school students

Tyler BrownJoondalup Times

MORE than 130 students from 14 local high schools attended the City of Joondalup’s council meeting on Tuesday.

The City has held one council meeting during the day each year since 2006 to allow students to see first-hand how their local government works.

Mayor Troy Pickard said it was one of the City’s highest ever attendance with students coming from Belridge Secondary, Greenwood, Kinross, Lake Joondalup Baptist, Mater Dei, Sacred Heart and Woodvale Secondary colleges, Montessori School, Ocean Reef and Warwick senior high schools, St Mark’s Anglican Community School, St Stephen’s School and Belridge and Duncraig secondary education support centres.

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Students asked questions before the meeting and during public question time and Mr Pickard spoke to them at length about the role of local government and his role as mayor.

Questions covered topics including furniture and softfall materials versus sand at parks, how the City supports budding athletes, recreation facilities for music and the arts, homelessness, unemployment, waste and recycling, the closure of the horse beach, the possibility of the City creating a writing group for people with special needs and traffic congestion around Hillarys Boat Harbour.

Mr Pickard also wore the mayoral robes following a “special request”.

“There’s probably a large number of staff and some councillors that have never seen me in the robes,” he said.

“Adding a little bit of pomp to the council meeting, which is the tradition from our heritage in the United Kingdom.”

Many of the students also attended the City’s youth leadership forum earlier in the day, where Bali Bombing survivor Phil Britten was the guest speaker.

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