I have followed and assisted in changes during that time and I am experienced in representing our community and negotiating with all levels of government.

Local government has always been at the forefront of managing change and I believe the mayor with supportive councillors and staff should be in the frontline in dealing with these challenges.

I have the experience and the time to work with business and the community to develop new opportunities whilst ensuring we continue to provide the infrastructure that our community needs in the cost-efficient manner.

Northern Midlands has benefited by the introduction of irrigation into agriculture which has led to the expansion of existing industries and encouraged new ones to establish.

However this has exposed a number of gaps, including lack of an experienced workforce, lack of accommodation, the need to prioritise road upgrades, transport and enough healthy recreation activities.

Added to this, I believe council, in conjunction with regional bodies, industry and the community, should develop a local tourism strategy that builds on the heritage of the Norfolk and Macquarie plains which also reflects our recent history.

Small businesses are the mainstay of the health of our economy in the Northern Midlands and they can be helped by providing a vibrant social calendar of festivals and events.

I am also committed to improving the well-being of our community and I would like to work with state and federal governments to co-ordinate all the health facilities in our towns to provide accessible and better health outcomes.

I also want to encourage the cultural and artistic development of those many talented members of our community and will actively seek to promote and create an environment where they can flourish.

While councils are already co-operating on many levels to reduce costs and keep rates down by resource sharing, more can be done to reduce the cost of services.

Whether this can be done through council amalgamations or by other means remains to be seen.

Much work needs to be done to ensure that whatever approach is taken, the cost to the community is not increased further.

This is the real challenge ahead of us in both local and state government.