Sally Betts is a South African-Australian Liberal local government politician. First elected as a Councillor for

Waverley Council Waverley Council is a Local government area in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. First incorporated on 16 June 1859 as the Municipality of Waverley, it is one of the oldest-surviving local government a ...

in the eastern suburbs of Sydney in 1995, she was the Mayor of Waverley from 2008–2011 and 2012–2017, and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

candidate for the seat of

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

at the 1988 New South Wales state election.

Mayor of Waverley

Support for SHS funding

Sally Betts has stated her support for the NSW government's funding of Specialist Homelessness Service (SHS) providers, saying "It is hard to criticise the Government for funding such organisations as

Wesley Mission Wesley Mission is a name used by three independent Uniting Church groups which are a part of the Uniting Missions Network of UnitingCare Australia. These predominantly grew out of inner city ''Central Methodist Missions'' of the Methodist Church ...

, St Vincent’s de Paul,

Caretakers Cottage Caretakers Cottage is an Australian non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in Sydney assisting children and young adults facing homelessness. Caretakers Cottage is funded by the New South Wales Department of Family and Community Servi ...

, The Uniting Church,

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its ...

, Ted Noffs,

Jewish House Jewish House is an Australian-Jewish non-profit organisation assisting homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. P ...

and in fact B Miles when these organisations are obviously most capable of dealing with homelessness and indeed delivering specific women’s services in our community." Betts criticised a local council decision that was thought to be turned into a political campaign against then Minister for Family and Community Services, Gabrielle Upton, who had been instrumental in increasing homelessness funding. Ms Betts said "Using the homeless as a political football is repugnant and council would not support any such ploy."

Reference letter incident

In 2015, Betts received some media attention and some public criticism following her intervention, writing a character reference on behalf of convicted rapist, Luke Lazarus. In addition to the reference letter incident, Betts also made headlines for seeking to introduce a school education program at Waverley Action for Youth Services, a local youth centre, intended for girls to minimise “risky behaviour.”

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Sally Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Mayors of Waverley, New South Wales Liberal Party of Australia politicians South African emigrants to Australia Year of birth missing (living people) Women mayors of places in New South Wales