Ward: King Parrot Ward.
Portfolio: Infrastructure and Waste.
Tell us about what you do as a Councillor and in your private life?
I run a couple of small-ish farms. I do youth development work. I work weekends at the Yea hardware store. I do scientific research work with Melbourne University.
I am forever taking courses to further my knowledge of farming and other things. I attend many, many meetings. I love being a councillor and getting things done for people.
What do you enjoy most about your role as Councillor?
Taking the bull by the horns and doing things that are meaningful to the community. Meeting people.
Helping with their problems and aspirations. Helping to shape the future of the shire. I love working with officers and management of the shire as a team to ensure that the people of the shire have their voices heard and needs fulfilled.
What do you love most about where you live?
I come from a small town called Bethanga in the north east of the state on the NSW border. It is on the foothills of the Great Divide.
Murrindindi is a more beautiful version of my old home. I love the friendliness of the people, the honesty of them all, and the willingness to work together as a community.
What do you hope will be your legacy when your role as Councillor finishes?
I hope that my enthusiasm rubs off on people. I hope that the work that I have done makes a real difference to our people in the future.
What books are you reading?
I get a kick out of reading war stories and learning from the mistakes made. I love to read scientific and medical research journals and about flight and aircraft research and development
What does a typical weekend look like for you?
I work in the Yea hardware store 6 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. I like a stroll around the farms doing a bit of spraying, fencing and checking on the cattle. It is quite therapeutic. I like a night out with my wife Faye, and having the grandkids come up and enjoy the rural experience with us. Weekends are like the rest of the week, quite hectic. But I would not have it any other way.
What is your idea of a holiday?
I have travelled outside Australia a lot with business in past lives so I tend to like to travel locally now. However a short stint on a fairly uninhabited tropical island in the shade of a palm tree with my feet in the tropical waters is like heaven.
On a longer break, I love to get into my list of projects which might be rebuilding a vehicle like a car or dozer, going on a training week with the Air force Cadets, or building a dam or shed.
We are planning to take the grandkids to Disney World in Florida as soon as they get a little older and can both appreciate the trip and remember it for the future.
Who inspires you?
Strangely in some ways Donald Trump. At my age he set a goal and saw it through. He also wants to make the world better for his people which is my goal too.
Whether he does this or not will determine if he inspires me into the future. I also gain inspiration from courage. From our service men and women in the Middle East and elsewhere. Most of the modern leaders don’t inspire me much at all.
Text & Images ©COPYRIGHT 2017 Kinglake Ranges News.
With Murrindindi Shire Council.
