Good evening Mayor, fellow councillors, staff and family members here tonight. 

I want to start by first thanking the former Frenchs Forest councillors Stuart Sprott, Jose Menano-Pires and Michael Regan for their custodianship of our beautiful part of the Northern Beaches over the last three years and beyond. I look forward to continuing their work in protecting our tree canopy, being fiscally responsible and supporting our sports and arts communities. To the residents of Frenchs Forest thankyou for the mandate and the trust that you have placed in me to represent our community. 

As the son of two first responders, the importance of civic duty was instilled at me at a young age, and it is an honour and a privilege I don't take lightly to be able to serve this community. I've lived on the Northern Beaches for all of my life, and I truly believe that we live in one of the most beautiful and precious places in the world. I want to protect what makes the Northern Beaches special so that future generations get to enjoy the most beautiful part of our lovely Australia and the treasures that we have just at our doorstep. I'm extremely excited about the opportunities for our next four years on council, and I look forward to working with you all to meet and exceed our community's high expectations for good governance, leadership, integrity and collaboration on council. 

One of the missions of the Office of Local Government is to ensure councillors represent a broad and diverse cross section of the communities they represent. When I look around the room tonight at my fellow councillors, I see that diversity reflected. I'm hopeful that with a multitude of perspectives, we can work towards consensus decisions that work in the best interest of the Northern Beaches. As a young person and a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I hope to bring a fresh point of view and an intergenerational perspective to the decisions that affect not only young people and minority groups, but the wider community as well. 

I'm the grandson of two migrants from former Yugoslavia who moved to Manly Vale in 1970 in search of a better life and a land of endless opportunity, and that is exactly what they found. It's my goal to see those same opportunities extended to the aspirational youth of today. I believe that with a strong sense of compassion, integrity and respect for the dignity of all that live here, our council could make incredible steps towards a more equitable and vibrant Northern Beaches. I'm currently undertaking a Bachelor of Law at Macquarie University and hope to specialize in planning and environment law, like the wonderful councillor Kristyn Glanville. 

I've worked in customer service for the last seven years within the retail and hospitality industries, and I've had the great pleasure of getting to know some of our community through those roles. I'm a self-described solar punk, which is a literary and artistic movement that envisions a sustainable future interconnected with nature and community. A vision I plan to try and advance with you all over our next four years on council. 

I'd like to finish off by thanking my parents, family, supporters and fellow Greens councillors for your backing, guidance and support over the last three years. While I will always put our community before party, I am deeply humbled and grateful for the support of the Greens and their belief in giving the younger generation a voice at the decision-making table. I certainly plan to make the most of this opportunity and I look forward to working with you all. 

Thank you so much.