COUNCILOR PROFILES
Cr Karen Chappel Morawa Shire WA Morawa is a Shire with a scenic beauty and ambiance of a truly agricultural district and located only 4 hours drive from the city of Perth, Western Australia. The Shire of Morawa has many attractions, both historic and modern, that make it a wonderful and welcoming place to visit. Morawa is dependent on broad acre Agriculture, with a strong history of Mining. Iron Ore was first mined at Koolanoooka Hills (20kms east) in 1961,and the first shipment of Ore left Geraldton in 1966. Our district is a tourism destination from May to September as we have the most beautiful display of Wildflowers. We are often in summer months the hottest place in Australia, always in the top five. My favourite part of living here is to see our farmers have a bountiful year, our community thrives on good years and struggles on those that are dry. I love watching the seasons change, to me the seasons are defined by our cropping programs. It starts with watching the dust as many farmers are dry seeding to the first rains when you can smell the richness of the soil through to seeing the little shades of green come through. The greatest pleasure is to see these glimmers of green grow into beautiful crops that then turn golden in September /October. Second generation Local Government I was first Elected to the Shire in May 2005. I had been the Licensee of the local Australia Post for 11 years therefore had a deep knowledge of the community and its challenges. My father had been a Shire President and Councillor of a neighbouring LG so I understood the commitment and value of the role. In my daily life I am the Accounts Manager for both our farming partnership and our daughter’s law firm in Perth. I act as relief manager at the Post Office when required, these Post Office days are so valuable in keeping me in contact with the community. I continue to serve the community as a Board Member of Rural West and Desert Blue Connect, organisations that offer free mental health and financial service support. If I was to have a down day I love to read but one of my greatest loves is cars, I really like a car with grunt, nothing quite like the meaty sound of a V8. I often say if I was to have my life again I would love to be Peter Brock or Daniel Riccardo. It is fortunate that I have a love of driving and cars as I spend much of my life travelling between Perth and Morawa.
Infrastructure Maintenance critical Our Council like many others is struggling to maintain assets and a high level of service delivery with limited resources. We have more than 800 kms of roads, our agricultural industry is dependent on road transport so the maintenance of this infrastructure is critical and has to be balanced by investment in community infrastructure to meet liveability expectations of the whole community. The Shire of Morawa is currently reviewing its Community Strategic Plan, this we hope will identify what the future will hold. Each generation sees the world differently and must take responsibility for their communities future needs, having vision is valued but seeing that vision realised is the hard work. Morawa has a bold plan for a Mountain Bike Trail around the Koolanooka Hills, it would be perfect for the winter months. The challenge is of course bringing all the project partners together along with the funding. Local Government rewarding If I was to describe my successes in Local Government, the first would be is to still have community support after 12 years as Shire President and second to be a Life Member of WALGA. I have served Local Government at all levels with diligence, Zone President and State Councillor WALGA since 2009, Board Member of Local Govt Advisory Board 2011- 2021 and MidWest Development Commission 2018 to now. At present I am the Acting President of WALGA after serving as the Deputy President for nearly two years and a Board member of ALGA. A Councillor offers you as an individual the opportunity to work with others to find solutions to all sorts of issues, from ensuring that the opening hours of the swimming pool are in the best interests of all to advocating to Government for critical funding for road safety improvements. The hardest part of the role is when you as a Cr disappoint your community and not deliver what your Council promised, even if there is mitigating circumstances it just is so awful to let your folk down. I see my purpose is to serve and I wish to accomplish this by serving the people through Local Government by being genuine, committed and prepared to accept change.
Cr Karen Chappel, Morawa Shire WA.
Mayor Mark Irwin - City of Stirling
The City of Stirling is the largest local government in Western Australia by population, and is one of the most multicultural by country of birth and languages spoken in additional to English. Our economy includes major industry in Osborne Park, major tourism destinations like Scarborough Beach, 25,000 small businesses and one of the largest shopping complexes in Western Australia now that the $800 million redevelopment of Karrinyup Shops is complete, doubling its original size. Coastal living plays a big role There has barely been a day in my life that hasn’t started at the beach, so I have a particular affinity with the City’s coastline and I am very eager to see it improved and preserved for future generations. I was first elected as a City of Stirling Councillor for the Coastal Ward in 2015, and was elected as Mayor by my fellow Councillors in October 2017 then re-elected as the City’s first popularly elected Mayor in 2019. I’ve always loved getting involved in local community groups and sporting clubs, and as Mayor really enjoy connecting with people and discussing local issues. I’m passionate about community service and have been a member of Scarboro SLSC throughout my whole life. I am very lucky to have recently stepped back from my other role with Surf Lifesaving Western Australia which now allows me to focus solely on the Mayoral role for the City. I love serving my local community through Surf Lifesaving at the Scarboro SLSC, Covid a Big Challenge I think the biggest challenge over the last two 8 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOCUS February 2022
Mayor Mark Irwin. years for all local governments is to adapt how we do things to the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether this has been in cutting down red tape to improve business opportunities, or complying with proof of vaccination requirements, we’ve had to adapt and innovate to continue delivering through this challenging time. The City of Stirling’s main strategic projects have been the investment in infrastructure
surround the Stirling City Centre Project, including over $160 million in road works to the Stephenson Avenue Extension Project and the progression of our $2 million business case into Trackless Trams. These two projects represent the backbone of more than a decade of planning that will see us secure our position as Perth’s second CBD. Successful Trackless Tram request The success of our request for Common-
wealth funding for a business study into Trackless Tram has been one of the most exciting developments of the last few years, as it really is a big, bold vision for the City which would represent a first for a local government, if not for the whole of Australia then certainly for Western Australia. What makes a successful councillor and dealing with hours? I think to be a successful Councillor you have to be actively involved and interested in the progress of your local community, and the best part of the job is being able to make a real difference whether that be fixing local problems or seeing big projects finalised. The most challenging part is certainly the hours, which isn’t really well understood. There is rarely a night that I’m not representing the City at an event, or attending meetings and committees, but that is part of the role and certainly easier for me given I don’t have a young family with kids waiting for me to come home. What’s next? I would love to see the Stirling City Centre project really launch forward over the next few years, after so many years of planning and preparing. I really do feel like we are now at the proverbial ‘pointy’ end of the projects, which Stephenson Avenue Phase Two beginning this year, and a Federal Election coming up in May where we will be advocating for significant investments in Stirling’s infrastructure. LGFOCUS.COM.AU
