What’s your connection with Brimbank?
I’ve lived in Brimbank for the past 10 years. I used to live in the east, but I decided to move to the west because there’s so many opportunities out here and it’s very close to the city. I fell in love here, had kids and a family, bought a house. This is home.
What do you like best about the area?
The best part is that everything is around you. Everything is so close. But I also love the culture out here. There’s so many different cultures on display in Brimbank and it’s great to see them all.
What do you think can be done to improve it?
The west is definitely improving. In the past it wasn’t lively, but now there’s young professionals moving in and it’s really come to life. But I think we need to establish some high-reputation schools. It’s starting to happen, but a lot of people still look east to send their children to school.
You were recently awarded a Neighbour Day Grant. Tell us a little bit about that.
This is a newly established area, so people don’t know each other very well. The grant provided a great excuse to talk to the neighbours easily. I invited the neighbourhood down to the park for a barbecue, but had it not been for the grant, it would have seemed a bit strange and awkward to just knock on people’s doors and ask them to join me for a barbecue.
What’s your idea of community?
After the barbecue, we got to know a lot of people around the neighbourhood. Our kids now play together and we’ve formed some great friendships. When there’s an emergency, a neighbour is the first person you call on. They’re close and sometimes family lives far away, so to know the people who live around you is very important.
Do you have any other events planned?
Absolutely. We’ll apply for the grant again this year. There’s new people who move into the area each year and this gives us a chance every 12 months to welcome them and all catch up as a group. Neighbours are very important. We all look out for each other.
