Remote lifestyle
I was first elected to Council in October 2008, and was re-elected in 2012.
I have spent six and half years on council thus far.
I became involved in local government when the Northern Territority merged 68 community government councils and created eight ‘super shires’.
The inaugural election was in 2008, and a number of residents suggested I had the time needed to cover such a large area.
After spending most of my life in Adelaide, and working in the other capitals, I discovered a love for the remote bush, the hot climate, and the laid-back lifestyle of the Top End.
Long-distance driving
Our council area is 150,000sq kms, but is one of the smaller regional councils in the Northern Territory!
It extends from Nauiyu on the Daly River almost to Lajamanu in the Tanami Desert.
Along with several other regional councils, my council lacks a town big enough to support a headquarters.
Therefore, our head office is in Katherine, which has it’s own town council.
There are also large distances between our office and our five main service centres.
Money is the number one challenge facing rural councils, of course.
Also a challenge is the population drift from the bush to the coastal fringe.
In spite of our enormous area, we have a small population; less than 5000 people.
Large areas are non-rateable land, or covered by ‘provisional rating’ acts, means we are a largely grants-based council.
I’ve often argued that we are merely ‘clearing houses’ for Federal grants,
As with all local government, we are facing at least a three-year freeze on any increase in the financial assistance grants.
The most difficult part of my role is the travel, I average over 1000km of driving per week.
Large parts of our council area also have no mobile or internet coverage.
We are currently doing a lot of work on the five dumps that service our main communities, concentrating on recycling and environmental compliance.
Open and accountable
I treat the Mayor’s position as a full time job.
When home in my own community of Timber Creek, which is rare, I help out at the school and the clinic.
I have recently completed a diploma in emergency management, and hope to use this training to improve disaster response and recovery in the Northern Territority.
My memorable successes in Local Government have always been about other people.
Watching new councillors grow into the job and gain confidence is very rewarding.
A key aspect of being a good Councillor is to spend the time and effort to have a thorough understanding of the role, the Local Government Act, administration regulations and so on.
I believe it’s important to provide open and accountable governance.
Also important is an ability to communicate the reasons why certain decisions are made.
I love working with people, so what better job could I have?
The best advice I have received is to never give up!
With me, what you see is what you get.
I make many mistakes, but I’ve also helped create an accountable and responsible local government.
I’m leaving it up to others to judge what my lasting impression on local government will be.
Outside of work I’m an avid reader, especially history and current affairs.
I also spend a lot of time when possible listening to the BBC or Voice of America radio online
Qualities I appreciate most in people are honesty, compassion, the ability to admit when one is wrong and laugh at yourself.
