Youngest City in New South Wales.
Shellharbour City is the third oldest municipality in NSW and the youngest city.
Spectacularly set on the south coast of NSW, our city is bordered by natural boundaries of mountains to the west, Minnamurra River to the south, Macquarie Rivulet to the northwest and Lake Illawarra to the northeast.
The city is home to more than 67,000 people and growing.
We are proud of our history, cultural background and have big ambitions for the future.
We are currently building a boat harbour that you can fit Darling Harbour into and as of recently, have a Qantas 747-400 calling our airport home.
It is hard to say what is my favourite part of the area best because we have so much to choose from, however, Killalea state park is a lovely place to visit with lush green hills and beach (The Farm) sitting side by side.
We have spectacular beaches and a great ocean pool at Shellharbour Village, as well as rainforest at Macquarie Pass.
The people who live here make Shellharbour special.
Many migrants from all over the world made Shellharbour City their home and we are very proud of our Multicultural community.
Maintaining
I was working in the disability sector when I was elected to council.
In September, I will have been on council for four years.
I am currently a full-time Mayor as the role is quite demanding.
I am studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Wollongong with a major in Politics, and a minor in Sociology.
My studies help me to see things differently.
My view of politics was quite parochial – party politics, state and local.
However my understanding has since been broadened to understand how society functions in politics and all areas of life.
Politics is still a male dominated environment and women don’t typically enjoy the cut, thrust and conflict of it.
Women often have competing priorities and traditional roles in their families.
I am currently the Country Vice President of ALGWA NSW, an organisation that encourages and supports women in local government, and would like to see more women become involved in local government, as elected representatives and employees.
Gender has never been an issue for myself while I understand the issues that women face.
I dream that one-day gender will not be an issue for anyone.
The best advice I have received is that you can’t please all the people all
the time.
Always think about the unintended consequences, meaning that it is important to look beyond the immediate impact of a decision.
Rural challenges
For rural councils, providing new facilities and services while maintaining and upgrading infrastructure are key challenges.
For Shellharbour, planning for the future and maintaining the existing infrastructure whilst preserving our heritage are our key challenges.
We are fortunate to have a number of income streams including business operations such as our airport, The Links golf course, sports stadium, nursery and have made good plans with the development of the boat harbour and its surrounds, known as The Waterfront, Shell Cove.
The development is ring fenced from Council’s revenue and the property sales pay for the ongoing construction.
Once complete, the marina will be a Council asset with up to 300 berths.
