Councillor profiles is a regular feature. This month we feature two Councillors from New South Wales.
Councillor Ron Hoenig, Mayor City of Botany Bay, New South Wales
Q. How long have you been on Council?
I have been on Council for over 26 years and I have been Mayor for 25 years. These have been among the most rewarding years of my life, as I have had the opportunity to serve my community. Representation on Local Government is, to me, the most direct way I can give back to the community.
Q. Why did you want to become involved in Local Government?
The answer is simple – service. When my parents came to Australia in the years following the Second World War they were welcomed by this community and the sense of belonging they received helped overcome the horrors that they had experienced in Europe. Like most sons and daughters of post war migrants, I had real opportunities and through Local Government, I can pay back some of what I was given.
Q. Can you tell us about your Local Government area?
The City of Botany Bay is quite unique in that it has a real small village atmosphere in the midst of a sprawling metropolitan area. I still see the people I grew up with on our streets, day after day. There has always been a real Botany spirit evident in all our residents and while decade after decade of industrial development and noxious industries made the people of Sydney look down on our suburbs, everyone here has real pride in being able to say “I come from Botany or Mascot.”
Q. What are some of the challenges you have faced in Local Government?
A real challenge was to get our City debt free so that all the revenues we receive from rates and other activities can be spent on services to our ratepayers. This took several years of close scrutiny and oversight of management. Ten years ago, I was proud to sign a cheque to pay off the last of our debt. This is a situation we have maintained and will continue to maintain.
Another area, which is always a challenge, is to reconcile job creating and industrial activities in our City with the rights and expectations of our residents. Again we have developed policies to ensure this correct balance.
Environmental protection is also paramount. Given the industrial nature of our area, nature itself was sometimes overlooked. Well it’s not any more and we have stringent environmental protection policies which influence just about everything we do. Given our location as the birthplace of European settlement in Australia, we have a duty to all subsequent generations to protect this fragile environment.
Looking after the needs of those less fortunate in our community is also a constant challenge, given the constant cost shifting from the Federal and State Governments to Local Government. We have been able to provide real and effective services for the aged, our youth, our mothers and our children.
Q. What are the specific issues currently facing your Council?
State Government polices for expansion of Port Botany, which will have disastrous impacts of the daily lives of our residents is a major issue we have to address.
We have also got the serious pollution of the Botany groundwater to overcome. This is a legacy of decades of industrial neglect and it took many years for Council’s concerns to be taken seriously by both the polluters and the State Government. Now, at last we have some action, but Council will remain vigilant to ensure that the contamination of the groundwater is addressed.
Q. What are the key aspects of being a good Councillor?
Listening to your community. If you don’t, you will never be successful. You also have to work with your community so that you reflect them and not yourself.
Councillor Janet Hayes, Mayor Kempsey Shire Council, New South Wales
Q. How long have you been on Council?
I have had two stints in Local Government covering about ten years. The first was in Crookwell Shire, which is now part of the amalgamated Upper Lachlan Shire, in 1988 and 1989. I ran again in 1998 after we moved to the beautiful Mid North Coast. I was elected in a by election both times.
Q. Why did you want to become involved in Local Government?
My involvement in Local Government was purely happenstance. I had always been a ‘political animal’ and after I had my fourth child in 1987, I became a bit of a drudge and worried that my mind had atrophied, in a global sense, after seven years of child bearing. Suddenly there was a dose of reality that I had to refocus my life and do something to reactivate my nappy sodden brain. This is a true story. I was having a shower one morning and heard on the local ABC news that a by election was to be held to replace a Councillor who had resigned mid term. The local Council had extended the close off point for the election because no one had nominated. My immediate thought was that I would have a walk up start. No one else seemed interested and “I could do that” – no interview, no resume, just walk in, nominate and become a Councillor.
However, the best laid plans of mice and women often go astray. Two other residents, and male at that, had apparently been showering at the same time, heard the same news bulletin and obviously wanted to reactivate their brains post children also. I therefore had to contest the by election. However, I was successful and Local Government was in my blood. I had become the queen of by elections.
Q. Can you tell us about your Local Government area?
Kempsey Shire, which includes the Macleay Valley, is arguably one of the most beautiful parts of the country. We encompass about 5,000 square kilometres extending from the hinterland beyond Bellbrook in the west, to glorious Stuarts Point in the north and Kundabung in the South. We are located about 450 kilometres from Sydney. Kempsey has some 28,000 residents and is experiencing the effects of the seachange phenomenon. We boast some of the most beautiful beaches in the world including Hat Head, Crescent Head and South West Rocks. Pivotal to our Shire is the majestic Macleay River.
Q. What are the specific issues currently facing your Council?
Our Shire is largely untouched by massive and unattractive development experienced by other seachange communities on the New South Wales coastal strip. We are very conscious that any development is sympathetic and essentially doesn’t change our lifestyle, which is why most of us live where we live.
The Pacific Highway winds through our Shire like a deadly snake that needs to be managed for fear of claiming more victims. The much lauded bypass of Kempsey and the duplication of the remainder of the highway is probably the most pressing challenge facing our community at the moment. Well accepted data shows that duplication of the highway will greatly reduce the number of accidents experienced. Increased traffic, including large trucks, changing demographics and a shift in fatigue zones where accidents are more likely to occur are a killer combination and we are all working hard to speed up the process.
Q. What are the key aspects of being a good Councillor?
A good Councillor should have a broad range of interests, be willing to learn and not go too far too soon. Too many times candidates are issues based and are elected on a populist vote. Local Government is so complex that people elected on one issue rapidly find that is an extremely tiny part of an extremely large picture and often set themselves up to fail. I firmly believe that party politics has no part in Local Government. We have an eclectic Council, wide cross section of our community and although we have many differences, I think that is our strength. Time is an important factor. There is so much to learn anyway, but given the plethora of ever changing State and Federal legislation, we also have to be ready to change while still standing strong for our communities. A good Councillor must have perspective and be able to see their area in context as part of a larger pie, not in isolation. The most important attributes are a strong support base – your family and friends and knowing how to count.
Q. What do you see as a strength of your Local Government area?
One of the great strengths and pleasures of our Local Government area is the relationship we have with our neighbours in our Mid North Coast Group of Councils. The group comprises Great Lakes, Gloucester, Greater Taree, Port Macquarie/Hastings, Kempsey, Nambucca, Bellingen and Coffs Harbour. We work exceedingly well together and have found that unity to be very rewarding. We meet regularly in great fellowship and support each other by networking often.
