Karratha ward incumbent councillors Pablo Miller, Joanne Waterstrom Muller up for fight to hold council seats

An SES volunteer and a local radio personality will stand again for the City of Karratha local government election. Pablo Miller and Joanne Waterstrom Muller were elected for the Karratha ward in 2017 and will re-contest their seats. Joanne Waterstrom Muller Joanne Waterstrom Muller feels she still has more to give after her first four years as a councillor and is aiming to focus on tourism and accommodation in town. Cr Waterstrom Muller said highlights of her first term included the opening of Dampier Foreshore and Walgu Park. “We also had a lot of tough times too. Going through COVID and making sure we had enough money in the kitty if COVID would take off again in WA or in the Pilbara,” she said. “That was a concern in making sure when we rolled something out — we still needed to support the community — but we also needed to support them in the future.” Cr Waterstrom Muller said the next hurdle facing the town was accommodation. “We’re already struggling with the accommodation in town and the eastern corridor,” she said. “We don’t want our locals who have been here for a long time to be leaving town so council is stepping out of a normal rates-and-roads type of background that we normally do.” Cr Waterstrom Muller said she wanted people to be able to live in the town long term. She said there were opportunities over the next four years to build tourism facilities in town and expand mountain bike tracks. “In regards to mountain biking, I still think there’s a lot of potential there for tourism. We could open up another caravan park, we’re struggling with that stuff at the moment,” she said. “People are going to travel in WA so let’s make the most of that and encourage people to come here.” Pablo Miller Radio host Pablo Miller hopes to expand opportunities for young people in the region. In a statement Cr Miller said he moved to the town 10 years ago and was proud to call Karratha home. Cr Miller said one of the highlights for him during the past four years was helping to establish the youth advisory group. “As the next generation of residents and leaders it’s important they have a voice and platform to share their needs and ideas for the next five to ten years,” he said. “Already, the group has played an instrumental part in ideas for Leisureplex, Youth Shed, Foreshore upgrades, public transport, Red Earth Arts Festival.” Cr Miller said he wanted to continue to contribute to the City’s goal of making Karratha the most liveable regional city in the State. “I’m particularly interested in expanding opportunities for young people and families, growing local cultural tourism, improving local business sustainability, prioritising local jobs, community engagement and getting better access to specialised health services in regional WA,” he said.