Councillor Maria McCarthy, Mayor, Yarra Ranges Council, Victoria
Natural beauty
Yarra Ranges Council is located on Melbourne’s eastern fringe and is home to a population of 145,000 people. Covering approximately 2500 square kilometres the area consists of 55 suburbs, townships small communities and rural areas.
Our Council area is one of Victoria’s largest, most varied and scenic municipalities. From the depths of the Yarra Valley through to the sweeping heights of the Dandenong Ranges, our area has long been recognised for its natural beauty and diverse range of habitats. I’d go as far as to say Yarra Ranges has to be the best place in the whole world. No matter where you look there is always something breathtaking to see. I was at my local football and netball Club recently and the vista around the Mount Evelyn grounds is amazing. To be among beautiful, tall trees and ferns is unique to Yarra Ranges. Whether you attend Healesville, Poweltown, Warburton or Lilydale to be surrounded by a magnificent vista makes you realise how fortunate we are to live here.
Small business
This is my first term as a Councillor and I became involved as I felt I could actively contribute to my local community.
My background is in small business. To me my role as a Councillor is the same as running my small business. You do all you can to make sure that you get the best outcome.
My small business is hands on and I enjoy the sense of reward at the end of my day with what I have achieved. Controversial issues are difficult. Working with different community groups that have different ideologies and needs and then trying to balance these while achieving a resolution.
I gauge my success on how I feel by the end of the day. I feel if I can go home at night knowing I have contributed in a way that supports the issue in going forward, that is where I get my sense of success.
One of the most demanding aspects of my role as Councillor is the volume of emails I receive. I try every day to get them back to a manageable task, but there is always new ones that come in, very rarely do I get that sense of satisfaction that I have achieved a good day’s work in this area.
Community spirit
The best parts of this role is meeting new people and understanding the community’s needs. I enjoy talking to different people and the discovery of what makes a community vibrant and resilient. I am proud of how members of our community see a need and work together to make it happen. The amount of volunteers that Yarra Ranges has is staggering. To understand that these members give us their time and skills to help improve their local community is truly amazing.
We are so privileged to live and work in such a picturesque area, the views I see on a daily basis are all postcard-worthy and I count myself and my constituents very lucky. But what makes it truly special is the vibrant and passionate community members that I interact with.
