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Natasha: I kept asking mum when the new equipment was going to be installed.
So she kept ringing the council but she couldn't get an answer from them.
They told her that no decision had been made and
that it maybe 1 to 2 years before it's replaced.
I insisted that I do something when she told me this,
so she suggested I write a letter to Mr Collier our local MP.
So one afternoon, after school, I wrote a letter to Mr Collier
explaining what had happened to my park.
Barry Collier: Hi Natasha, how are you?
Natasha: Hi.
Barry Collier: Thanks for coming to see me, come in.
Natasha: Sure, thank you.
Mum had told me that Mr Collier was my local MP.
He had come to my primary school a few times, Gymea North Primary School,
and so I sort of knew him from there.
I was in the backyard at home with the family one day when we heard a voice,
it was Mr Collier he had read my letter and had come to see me and the park.
Barry Collier: What we really have here is a
great example of democracy in action.
I had no idea this was a problem in this
little park at the back streets of Gymea.
It's sort of hidden away there and I got this letter from a girl called Natasha.
I can't recall ever meeting Natasha before this but she said this:
My name is Natasha.
I am 10 years old.
I live in Gymea.
Last year before Christmas the playground equipment
that was in our park was taken away.
Mr Collier there are no playgrounds close to where we live.
All the children that live here really miss our playground
and have nowhere else to play.
Is there anyway possible you could help us replace our playground.
We would really appreciate your help.
Natasha: So we went over to the park and spoke about it.
He explained how he was our local member and that the
council actually looked after the park, he didn't.
So he explained the process that I would have to go through
to try and get new play equipment.
It was going to be a big job but I was willing to give it a go.
My next job was to gather signatures from
all the children that use the park.
So at school we spoke to my Principal and he put a notice in the
school's newsletter explaining what I was going to be doing.
So within a week I started collecting signatures and I also went
door knocking through the nearby streets for signatures of children
who didn't attend my school.
Once I had collected all the signatures for the petition my mum
dropped it off to Mr Collier's office.