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QUALIFIED - EXPERIENCED- MOTIVATED
I am nominating because I believe that I can make a difference, I
bring local government experience, professional management experience, qualifications, a balance of opinions and feel that
this is the opportune time for me to make the progression from divisional councillor to mayor.
I have experience as a councillor having served on the former Johnstone
Shire Council from 2000 to 2007.
I am passionate about and committed to local government, and during
this time as a councillor I achieved two local government qualifications; "Councillors as Leaders in Local Communities" course
and a Diploma of Local Government Administration, the diploma included subjects about Legislation, Governance, Financial Reporting,
Management and Community Engagement.
I have certificates in nursing and midwifery and have academic qualifications
including a Graduate Certificate in Child and Family Health, a Bachelor of Health (Nursing) and a Master of Public Health
degree. In both my degrees I choose Human Health and Environment as elective subjects and I am aware that health and survival
are dependent on wise use and quality of the environment that we live in.
I am currently employed as a Clinical Nurse and have previous and
current experience in management roles. I also assist with operations of my husband’s small business.
I have lived in the Innisfail community since 1970 and have worked
in the Innisfail and Tully district employed in hospital and community based nursing roles. I have worked in hospitals, child
health clinics, as a practice nurse in a doctor’s surgery, a service manager for Endeavour and a Clinical Nurse Consultant
at an aged care facility. I am married, have adult children and am a grandmother.
My voluntary community involvement includes being a board/committee
member of Innisfail Blue Nursing Service and Warrina Innisfail. Member of Innisfail Lioness, Nurse of the Year participant,
volunteer Queensland Cancer Fund and volunteer at Endeavour Respite Services, Innisfail.
I am the Zone 1 representative for Australian Local Government Women’s
Association, Queensland Branch. ALGWA’s Mission Statement is; to encourage, educate and support those interested or
involved in Local Government.
My councillor role gave my opportunity to be the Chairperson of Community
Services, Chairperson of Regional Arts Development Fund, Chairperson of Sport and Recreation Committee, council representative
for Innisfail Chamber of Commerce and Chairperson of Health.
I was also Deputy Chair of the Local Disaster Management Committee
and during Cyclone Larry I gained first hand experience of disaster management, as I was in the group of people who spent
the night and the entire period of the cyclone at the Local Disaster Centre set up at the shire hall, I assisted with answering
the phones and giving people support, advice and reassurance. I also worked closely with the post cyclone operations at the
police station.
ALGWA Qld branch donated $1000.00 to the Playgroup Toy Library to
assist towards replacing damaged equipment. I had the honour of presenting the donation to this group.
Local Government Reforms has bought some changes to councils operations.
The results of these changes include – councils taking a more strategic and business-like approach to operations and
a new emphasis on governance, customer service and provision of services within a competitive environment.
If elected as mayor my plan would include; a team's approach to managing
the regional council, encouraging councillors to take advantage of local government training opportunities to become educated
about their roles, responsibilities, the financial systems, communication, community consultation, having insight to the Code
of Conduct and to being mindful that the "one size fits all" approach is not acceptable for such a diverse community. Promoting
and achieving social, economic, environmental and cultural development.
In closing, I will not be making any promises that I cannot keep and
will make decision that will benefit the majority of the community. I possess personal characteristics of empathy, honesty,
integrity, responsibility and reliability.
I feel that a combination of experience and qualifications is essential
for this challenging role, as a woman I feel I will bring balance to the entire team. Local government is both challenging
and rewarding and I feel I make a positive contribution. I wish all the candidates well with their election campaign.
I can be contacted on 40613129 or e-mail ken.stitt@bigpond.com
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