Two-horse race for Shire of East Pilbara leadership as Middleton seeks re-election, Lockyer throws hat in

It will be a two-horse race for the Shire of East Pilbara presidency as Cr Lou Lockyer looks to unseat president Anthony Middleton. The two councillors are the only people to have nominated for the top job in the upcoming local government election. Cr Lockyer, who represents the Shire’s South ward, said she was motivated to run for president because of her strong connection to the Pilbara community. “I wanted to put my hand up because I’ve learnt a lot over the last four years by looking at the governance, what policies we have, how big our Shire is, and what responsibilities we have. “I think I have a really good connection to the Pilbara because I see a lot of the different groups within the region and I’m able to represent them fairly.” Cr Lockyer said her top three priorities were safety, infrastructure and economic development. “Over the last 18 months we’ve done a really big look at what is needed in the Shire,” she said. “I think number one would be the safety within the Shire, there are community development projects we are working on that I want to see progress. “There is always a need for better infrastructure like the road infrastructure that we currently have.” Cr Middleton said he was looking to build on his first two years in the role after the Shire was able to achieve a number of big projects like the Marble Bar Airport and the Newman pool upgrade. He said the Shire’s advocacy work was starting to pay dividends as shown by his recent trip to Canberra. “Peter Dutton mentioned the Shire at a forum this morning (September 14) and he knows what our challenges are,” he said. “We are being heard and the advocacy over the last few years is getting through to Government. “He mentioned us in relation to three of our big projects — the Newman Airport upgrade, youth centre and wastewater treatment plant — I want to see these come to fruition in the next four years.” The Shire of East Pilbara local government elections will take place on October 21.