Youngest indie council candidate Tim Rymer – “Hawkesbury deserves better than what we’ve got now.”

He impressed at last week’s Hawkesbury Meet the Candidates Forum for his straight talking and a composure way beyond his years so we wanted to find out what makes Bilpin’s Tim Rymer tick, and ask him why wants to become the Hawkesbury’s youngest independent councillor.

There’s a growing divide between our leaders and our communities, says 22-year-old Tim, and he reckons that needs to change, along with what he hopes will be an influx of new councillors following the Saturday vote.

Tim is standing with independent group The Locals – group F on the ballot – and he’s also the youngest candidate out of almost 80 people standing for the 12 seats.

He is a true local – his parents, Heidi and Jamie Wilson bought their first home in North Richmond before moving to Bilpin when he was almost two. Tim, his two younger sisters, and older brother went to Bilpin Public School and he’s played for Colo Soccer Football Club and the North Richmond Cricket Club. He currently works at Bilpin’s High Hopes Roadhouse, while also volunteering with the Kurrajong Heights Recreation and Bowling Club, and Mountain Springs Monastery. Tim Rymer

What made him want to stand for Hawkesbury Council?

“I’m 22 years old. It is so important to have young people on Council because we want them to reflect the diverse needs of the community,” he says.

“Most people who live in the Hawkesbury are under 40, but most people on city councils are not. How do we expect to serve the people of our community if those people are not involved?”

“People don’t know what is happening in the Hawkesbury because it’s communicated so poorly. I want to invest my time into informing the public. I want to create opportunities for every resident to contribute to the Hawkesbury.”

He says the Council could do with listening to some of our younger residents because they have their finger on the pulse.

“Council should learn from the example set by tens of thousands of students who engaged in the School Strike 4 Climate Action protests around this country. Action on climate change is the biggest priority of young people and needs to be addressed if our local politicians want to stay on Council,” he says.

Tim Rymer with Sue Kirkpatrick, Public Officer of Kurrajong Heights Recreation and Bowling Club, Labor MP Andrew Leigh, and MP Susan Templeman at an event representing the Hawkesbury community to support charities and Not-For-Profits.

“Young people want to be heard but it’s difficult for them to have a voice in traditional political spaces.”

“Many Australians, including young people, only learn about national news, and treat it as drama. We need real engagement from our youth because a more connected, empathetic community is a better one. Find a few friends to get involved with and you can make an enormous difference.”

Tim says if he does get elected to Council he will push to sort out our roads and get the local government area cleaned up.

“The fact that we don’t take care of the roads and rubbish in the Hawkesbury isn’t just a joke, it destroys the lives of people in our community.

“Travelling along Bells Line of Road or Richmond Road is one of the most dangerous things you can do in NSW due to poor road conditions and road safety. We can fix our roads by working with the state government and we can clean up our rubbish by going out once a month and getting it done.”

He became a member of the Labor Party after initially being inspired by hard-working Macquarie MP Susan Templeman, but has since left.

“I continue to admire the commitment she [Susan Templeman] has to the Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains. I am first and foremost a volunteer to the community and Susan has helped engage me in those efforts.

“However, there is a vacuum in the Hawkesbury for young, progressive people and as a result I’ve had to get involved independently rather than to rely on the slow-turning cogs of our major political parties.”

Tim says his goal is to “serve as many people in the community as possible through everything I do. I aim to get more people engaged in their communities going forward”.

“The Hawkesbury deserves better than what we’ve got,” he says, “and we deserve better than what we’ll get with Council right now.”

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