I have valued the community connections and the many issues debated, solved and championed.

I have had the pleasure to work with a dedicated Council team and an amazing staff who have collaborated with the elected members to achieve positive outcomes for the community.

I have been pleased to be a part of significant, transparent and organisational reform, representing and delivering to the diverse Toodyay community.

I look forward to the promise of change by the new Councillors for the Toodyay community.

With a change of Chief Executive Officer, Council became much more heavily involved in providing strategic direction to the administration when it came to such things as preparing annual budgets.

Similar improvements happened when it came to the development and review of policies.

Staff and councillors alike contributed their skills, knowledge and expertise to support Shire decision-making processes.

Workshops involving both staff and councillors were an essential component in providing better service to the community.

Some people are able to process prodigious quantities of detail, while others take a big picture approach.

It was the combining of all these different attributes that produced a formidable team.

There is also the matter of having a “can do” attitude and listening closely to people’s concerns.

It was for me always about finding ways to get answers and solutions for those people.

I felt it important that I kept people informed about what I was doing on their behalf.

I was always happy to answer anybody’s questions about why I voted in the ways that I did in meetings of Council.

I saw openness, honesty, transparency and accountability as being essential aspects of my performance as a councillor.

Being a councillor meant always learning about new things from subject experts, and considering the impact of that learning on the strategic decisions that I was charged with making.

There was also membership of Council committees and also those of external organisations, in my case the Toodyay Roadwise Committee.

Attendance at events such as the launch of the Gnulla Karnany Waangkiny Project was also part of the job.

I encountered a wide range of people.

At one extreme were the hyper-aggressive, dim-witted, ill-informed sociopaths.

At the other extreme were those who expressed heart-warming gratitude for my efforts on their behalf.

It has been an interesting, frustrating and rewarding four years for me.

I wish the new Council and all its members the very best with the rewards and challenges that lie ahead.

Local Aboriginal corporation members have worked tirelessly to build harmonious relationships while promoting awareness of our region’s Aboriginal cultural heritage.

Our community has achieved a national reputation for valuing its heritage – both European and Aboriginal.

The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart that prompted last month’s referendum was a modest proposal.

A different result would have been a powerful step towards real healing.

Contrary to some of the more strident ‘No’ campaign messaging, our backyards and way of life were always going to be safe.

It provided a clear example of why new ‘Truth in Politics and Media’ laws proposed by Independent NSW Federal MP Zali Stegall are needed.

Australia now occupies a unique position globally.

It is the world’s only colonial settler society that not only does not recognise in any way those dispossessed by colonialism, but whose citizens have actively rejected any such recognition.

This rejection will likely awaken a new generation of Aboriginal leaders.

The Federal Government has declared a “renewed commitment to closing the gap”.

This is good, but many believe reconciliation may be a victim of the Voice rejection.

I hope reconciliation is not set back – maybe it just needs a new way forward.

I would sincerely like to thank the CEO and staff for their willing support.

Overall, I believe that as a council we are leaving the shire in a better financial situation than we found it.

It has been frustrating not being able to see Datascape to its satisfactory conclusion during our term and the resulting issue with audits.

However, we are progressing towards an unqualified audit.

I hope that the new council will continue this good work and commitment to the whole Toodyay community.