Ipswich has a special blend of the old and the new, as both Queensland’s oldest provincial city and its fastest-growing local government area. We are a destination city of choice for young couples and young families looking for an affordable, liveable city, with plenty of parks and open spaces, and a great community spirit. Ipswich is also home to residents from 163 countries of origin, speaking over 152 different languages, which have brought so much to our economy and cultural life.
Ipswich boasts a bourgeoning advanced manufacturing and defence hub around both the Amberley RAAF Base and the Redbank Rheinmetall facility, we’re looking forward to another bright chapter in the city’s rich history. We are also seeing unprecedented growth in the health sector with expansion plans for local hospitals and health services.
First female mayor in 160 years
In April 2020, I was sworn in as Ipswich’s 51st mayor, and the city’s first female mayor in the city’s 160 year history. Previously, I’ve stood as a candidate in Federal elections, but this is my first term as a mayor. I’ve been in the job for almost 16 months and have loved every minute.
I am a lifelong volunteer (like my parents) and love serving my community. I have been an open government advocate for many years. Ipswich has had a turbulent time with its Council, with a former mayor, CEO and COO and others connected to Council currently in jail. I saw both a need in our community for local leadership that would listen and respect Ipswich residents and for a Council that would be accountable to them. People deserve to know how their rates, fees and charges are spent and how decisions are made in an open and transparent way.
As a full-time mayor I don’t have any other jobs – my focus is on serving the city and rebuilding trust in government. Before local government, my professional work history included: leading the Queensland Government’s open data program, making previously unpublished data and information publicly available; former executive in the Department of Defence, leading the maintenance of the RAAF F111 jets; senior roles in the Queensland Government; and as a small business owner and serving in the Army.
I also hold a Masters of Management, am a graduate of the Australian Command and Staff College, and have completed the Company Directors Course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. I was also on the boards of the Ipswich Chamber of Commerce, Coordinated Organisation for the Disabled in Ipswich and Focal Community Services.
I draw on these experiences every day – the city faces complex challenges, and I feel my professional and volunteer background prior to being elected has given me a strong platform to lead and work with the community to help rebuild and look to the future.
Outside of work hours
When my Mayoral duties allow, I’m an active Rotarian with the Ipswich City Club, and I attend regular meetings and volunteer where my Council commitments allow. I am an active member of the Ipswich RSL Sub-Branch and very committed to supporting our defence personnel, veterans and their families.
I try to catch the mighty Ipswich Jets at every home game and enjoy watching our local football and hockey matches.
My husband Steven and I have three adult children, and we enjoy spending time with them.
Challenge is opportunity
The two greatest challenges facing Ipswich are its significant population growth and the friction caused as this residential growth abuts private waste operators located in the city.
Ipswich is due to double in population in the next 12 years to nearly 500,000 people. We currently take in 30 percent of the growth in South East Queensland.
We also receive 55 percent of the waste generated in South East Queensland, or 42 percent of the state’s rubbish, into eight private owned and operated sites.
Clearly, both of these can’t continue on their current trajectories and not come into serious conflict with each other. Since the new Council was sworn-in in April last year, we’ve made addressing the city’s waste issues and preparing for population growth our highest priorities.
We see our waste challenges as an opportunity to develop advanced manufacturing and re-manufacturing capability in the city, harnessing the existing highly qualified Defence and other advance manufacturers already based in the city.
The first step has been to develop and implement the Waste and Circular Economy Transformation Directive. The Directive acknowledges that we cannot undo the last two decades of poor planning immediately. However, to do nothing also isn’t an option. The directive details the many challenges currently faced by Council in dealing with the growing sector. It outlines 10 guiding principles that will inform Council’s strategic and operational activities over the coming years and provides a platform for a concerted and coordinated effort across waste, resource recovery, recycling and the circular economy.
Australia’s first integrity hub
I’m extremely proud of Ipswich City Council’s Transparency and Integrity Hub, my first order of business when we came into office. Recognised as an Australian first for local government and a significant step in launching Ipswich into a new era of transparency, it’s the ‘gold standard’ for accountability of Ipswich ratepayers’ money.
The Hub gives residents, journalists, anyone, the ability to look up Council spending in real time, hold Council and Councillors to account on what they have spent public money on, and see for themselves, down to contracts of $10,000 and above, just what we’re spending money on. Council was recognised for its leadership, winning a Smart Cities Australia-New Zealand Award in December 2020 for the Transparency Integrity Hub.
Our Buy Ipswich Procurement Policy implemented last year has seen us increase our procurement locally. We have gone from spending 20 percent of our procurement locally to 47 percent in just over a year.
Affecting people’s lives
The best part about being Mayor is being able to serve my community, and to be able to listen to, and help make changes, to things that really affect people’s daily lives. We opened the nation’s first dedicated children’s library in late June, and the look of amazement and wonder on the kids’ faces as they raced in to the explore this new space – dedicated to them and for them – was wonderful. These moments, and the ones where we can make a difference, are the ones that make my day as Mayor. The worst part of being Mayor is not being able to fix everything for everyone.
Wish list
I’m focussed on four things – managing growth, being an inclusive and sustainable city, delivering infrastructure and community assets, and rebuilding trust in Council. We’ve made great strides in starting the change on sustainability and waste, and we’re making progress on rebuilding trust in government, but Council has a number of major infrastructure projects on its wish list that are vital catalytic projects and vital to manage future growth.
Specifically, the Ipswich to Springfield Central Public Transport Corridor needs its final business case and commitment to be built; there needs to be a second river crossing built in the Ipswich CBD, and we want to build a boutique rectangular stadium at North Ipswich Reserve, to give our community the world-class facilities it needs and deserves, and to host national fixtures in the NRL and A-League.
