Cr Kirsten Alexander
Mayor, City of Charles Sturt, South Australia
I became involved in Local Government following my involvement in a community campaign to retain open space on St Clair Park. This is a lovely historic park in Woodville that was originally created in response to a 1942 petition to acquire the land in memory of those who fought and died for their country. The parklands were ‘swapped’ by the previous Council with a nearby contaminated site to allow for a multi-story housing development. I was unhappy that the community was not listened to; this prompted me to get involved. I was elected Mayor of the City of Charles Sturt in November 2010.
About Charles Sturt
Charles Sturt has a diverse community with 100 different nationalities and 108,000 residents. It is located in the western suburbs of Adelaide, and extends from the Adelaide Parklands through to the coast. We have 13 kilometres of coastline and a wonderful lake system at West Lakes.
We have early suburbs that were some of the first developed outside of the city, in the historic inner suburban areas of Hindmarsh, Bowden and Brompton. Areas like Woodville developed along the railway line to Port Adelaide, where wealthy merchants settled and built their mansions, and early coastal resorts developed at Henley and Grange. We have a long history of migrant communities helping to shape our city such as the Italian market gardeners in Findon and the Vietnamese community in Pennington. The later development of West Lakes from swamplands into a beautiful award winning residential and recreational lake development was also very special.
A key challenge facing our Council is the rapid growth in our city over the last five years, and the pressure this places on infrastructure. The lack of open space in our inner suburban areas for residents to stay healthy and for use by sporting groups is also a concern.
How does your other career contribute to your role as a councillor?
I trained as a civil engineer and I work for the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) as a senior manager. Having managed significant infrastructure investment programs at ARTC has given me a very good understanding of the infrastructure needs of Council, and my background in project and asset management has been very useful. I know what questions to ask!
I think that women approach a new role differently to men. I needed to be encouraged to run, and it was only when I was approached by a former Alderman and a long-term Councillor that I finally made the decision to give it a go. I nominated mainly because I thought people were depending on me, and because I wanted to serve my community. I think it can be more challenging for women to achieve senior leadership positions, although one of the things I have enjoyed about local government is that there are more women, as I am used to a more male-dominated ‘blokey’ environment.
What is the Council working on?
I am a great supporter of sustainable investment in infrastructure, such as flood mitigation, stormwater retention and water recycling, as proposed under the Charles Sturt ‘Waterproofing the West’ project which collects and recycles stormwater for use on our open spaces and in new residential developments.
Important issues to me are community engagement and collaboration, celebration of the arts and indigenous culture, improved disability access and more sustainable development. I want Charles Sturt to be known as a beautiful city where People Come First – that is the vision from our Community Plan.
Successes in Council
I was actively involved in ‘Imagine Tomorrow’, the recently completed review of the Charles Sturt Community Plan, where we took on board comments and feedback from over 3000 residents. This ensured people have a voice on issues that will shape the future of where they live.
My greatest achievement on Council has been increasing community collaboration and looking at new ways to involve the community on issues including the Henley Precinct Master Plan. I am also very happy to see the Council now taking an active role in economic development and forming the Western Business Leaders Group.
Cr Roger Strother
Mayor, Coorong District Council, South Australia
At the time I first joined Council in 1991 I was involved in a couple of action groups to retain a local Police Station and a local ferry service, both provided by the state government, and was also involved in a local progress club, school councils and sporting groups. When a vacancy became available I was encouraged by the local community to stand to help deal with some issues between them, so it just kept going from there.
Our council area is a predominantly rural area near the mouth of the Murray River with two lakes that river flows into before it flows through the barrages into the truly special body of the Coorong then out to sea.
Key challenges facing Coorong
Our council like other rural councils is facing population decline, mainly due to the hard times the farming industry has been faced with. We also lost a portion of rural community when the river and lakes dried and became saline; this affected our businesses and schools. Although the waters have been refreshed it is taking a long time to rebuild confidence.
Our council was amalgamated from three to one so the challenge to bring people in a large area and three towns together is ongoing even after 14 years. Getting the council to work together is going to continue to be a challenge for some time.
We are facing the challenge of rebuilding our area after the water has come back. The council took the opportunity to buy 1600 hectares of land for the development of a major industrial site which is looking to become a major motor sport park.
The other major project in the early stages of planning is an interpretive centre focusing on the Coorong, Lakes and River Murray local Indigenous groups and others to share their stories with visitors. The real challenge will be encouraging the state and federal governments to support the concept.
Maintaining the health of the lakes, Coorong and rivers is top of the list for me and closely following that is maintaining a healthy rural industry. Both issues can be strongly influenced by interests outside our council area, so it is still important for the council to present our case to the rest of the country. I intend to use the next 18 months to fight for the large issues of the River Murray and agriculture to be alive and well into the future.
Being a councillor
Memorable moments for me were times like getting a small access road sealed, or sign in place, things that meant so much to a few people. A key for a councillor is to remember they represent the whole council not just a little patch or one issue, and to engage with those people who elected you and understand and respect their points of view without putting them down.
Being able to make a small group of people’s ideas heard in the greater council area is what being a councillor is about. The worst thing is having people abuse you because they have a completely different view and are unable to accept that a council decision made by the majority of councillors is not just one person. The best advice I received early in my time as councillor that still applies today, especially in situations like the above, is that ‘you will never please everyone’.
I try to have a life outside council by spending time with the grandchildren, especially camping together as a family, and if time permits just to go fishing, or hitching up the caravan.
