positive change in the community. The association deals with a variety of requests. ‘Listen to the People’ is this residents’ association’s catchcry. In the sections that follow, residents talk about the many ideas that have surfaced in the last 50 years and resulted in community action. They address issues such as protecting our dunes, banning jet skis, greening our suburbs, claiming parks for residents, attempting to stop high-rise development, protecting Gulf St Vincent, cleaning the water of the River Torrens, and creating public art. Their stories suggest that joining an activist group encourages community engagement and gives the ordinary citizen an opportunity to have a voice and make a difference in the world. Knowing what is going on in the local community is paramount. WACRA members are vigilant and stay informed. Between them they cover a range of special interests: heritage, environment, planning and development, public art and so on. Armed with new or relevant information, WACRA Committee organises education sessions and workshops. Keynote speakers are invited to the bimonthly general meetings. Staff from the local council, the City of Charles Sturt, have extended invitations to WACRA members, seeking a representative on some of its committees. WACRA members work with the AdaptWest team, aiming to build resilience to the present and future challenges of climate change. Committee members meet regularly with the local state member of parliament to discuss current issues. WACRA cooperates with other council areas. For instance, when you read Peter Schultz’s story, you see how WACRA worked alongside Port Adelaide Residents’ Association about dredging Outer Harbor. WACRA is an active and founding member of Community Alliance SA on shared issues of concern in urban planning. Networking Working alongside local government is a common theme. In his interview with Tina, Charles Sturt Council’s CEO, Paul Sutton, explained that: [Our] relationship has reflected WACRA’s interests in a variety of things that have been happening in our city ... WACRA has been a supporter of council playing a role in managing the late-night economy and once again, we find ourselves together in discussions about the business activity around Henley Square. Sometimes there is a contentious issue … Council and WACRA collaborated on the jet ski exclusion zone along our coast. This is a good example of where council worked quite closely with WACRA to achieve the result the community generally wanted … WACRA often brings matters to council that may have been missed otherwise. The most recent was asking for a defibrillator to be installed on a pylon in Henley Square, thus making this device accessible for people on the beach or on the square. We celebrated its installation in late 2018. This was not an issue that council would have been aware of without WACRA drawing attention to the need.
Over the years, this residents’ association has accumulated a wide network. It has connections with other community groups and local councils, and WACRA members belong to or are involved with the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), Community Alliance SA, South Australian Living Artists (SALA), Coastal Ecology Protection Group (CEPG), the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) – formerly the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI), AdaptWest, Friends of Gulf St Vincent (FoGSV) Henley
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