Colleen Fuller will be Gunnedah council’s sole representative at 2017 Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) Conference.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The ALGWA state branch immediate past president was thrilled to be representing council at the Sydney conference in May.
This year’s theme is titled “Your Adventure Starts Now”, featuring guest speaker Robbi Mack – and expert in self-awareness and the power of empathy who is described on her management page as a “five-foot firecracker”.
Approval was granted for up to three Gunnedah councillors to attend but only Cr Fuller has indicated her presence.
Fellow councillor Ann Luke had prior commitments while Cr Gae Swain said given the increased workload with Gunnedah’s strategic plan, it was a matter of weighing up which event would provide greatest benefit to the people.
“With so much on, it’s hard to make the choice of what to attend and what we could bring back to the community,” Cr Swain said.
Ann Luke backed Cr Fuller’s attendance at the conference but said more representation was needed in all positions at council.
“I think it is disappointing that only three women are represented as councillors at the moment,” she said of the community-elected positions.
“It would be good to see more women in executive council positions too.”
Cr Fuller said while it is an ongoing struggle to gain a greater presence of women councillors, much ground had been made already.
“Our council is very supportive,” she said.
“I think we have come a long way.”
Cr Swain said it was great to see numbers going up but considered family commitments to be still one of the biggest obstacles to achieving increased representation by women in local government.
“I think it’s difficult to juggle things when children are smaller,” Cr Swain said.
“The support at home is important.”
She and her fellow councillors praised funding introduced more than a decade ago which subsided child care for women serving in local government roles.
The upcoming, two-day women’s conference will be held at Penrith and provide networking and information sharing opportunities for guests.
The event will also feature workshops by adventurer, storyteller and photographer Kim-Cherie Davidson and discussions on how to get accreditation for gender equity.