10 QUESTIONS WITH KYLIE STIBBARD – Singleton Mayoral Candidate

1. What led you to run for Mayor?

Over the last 12 years or so, I’ve attended my share of council meetings, sometimes to support, sometimes to object. I have sought public access a number of times and experienced the frustration so many members of the community have shared in dealing with an at times ineffectual, even bewildering, demonstration of governance. The last four years have been an embarrassment on many levels, due in part to the style of leadership in chambers. When I saw the list of candidates for councillor, I was heartened by the five new faces but disappointed that not a single, independent new face had appeared on the Mayor list. During the weeks leading up to nominations, my neighbours and a number of friends and family canvassed the idea. My initial thought was to wait and see if anyone else would put their hand up; when that hadn’t happened by the day of close for nominations, I knew I had to do it.

2. You’re a fresh face running for Singleton Council; can you tell us about what you stand for?

What this council needs, I believe, is fresh perspective; a whole new group dynamic and smart, articulate leadership to navigate its way forward. I want to see the community respecting their elected representatives, feeling supported when they raise concerns, not persecuted by councillors who can’t deal with disagreement. I come to this campaign, not with bucketloads of idealism about making everyone agree and get along with each other, but with a head for pragmatism and lateral thinking to solve the issues.

My vision for Singleton embraces the past, the rich history of our town and surrounding districts; the present, with the economic bounty that mining and related industry brings and the need for well managed co-existence, through effective monitoring of health impacts and accountability; and the future – a community engaged in meaningful, demographically relevant and regular cultural activities that bring us together as proud Singletonians.

I want to see Singleton become a place where people want to live, not just work. Our planning for land release and infrastructure development must be forward thinking, not reactive or bogged down in poorly executed development strategies. We must look beyond mining and be in action on developing sustainable economic strategies, not just talk about it ad-nauseum with those who will be long gone when the mining boom is over.

Our town needs a fully functioning police station, with multi-layered local traffic solutions – from mine funded transport for workers to the bigger goal of a by-pass. We need creative solutions on the design and use of our CBD, to counter the impact of large franchise entry to the economy on local small business.

I believe we must also place greater importance on developing effective relationships with our surrounding local government areas. These are valuable alliances that must be fostered in order to achieve better outcomes for the wider region.

3. How important is it to have a new face leading Singleton?

After the last 3-4 terms of government, I believe it is essential for Singleton Council to have new leadership. I believe the community has lost respect for their elected representatives and no longer trusts the direction of its council. We need intelligent, articulate leadership that we can be proud of – a strong, even-handed leader with a vision for Singleton.

4. This will be the first time the Mayor has been popularly elected in Singleton. Why do you think the change was needed and how will it affect your chances?

I’m not altogether sure it was, in fact, necessary. However, given developments over the last 2 years it will be welcome relief to our community that potentially self-interested councillors will not be installing our new leader. It opens up possibility for people with leadership and management skills to come forward, but leaves open for debate the necessity of training as a councillor first or a need for the requisite skills to lead local government. Without the changes, however, I would not have the opportunity to run for Mayor and I believe that has a positive impact on anyone’s chances. Fortunately, I have the capacity to read, research, understand and interpret the legal instruments used and the relevant Acts of government, along with skills and experience that will translate well to the position. I have a passion for my community and I embrace the challenge of developing expertise on the processes of local government.

5. Will it be beneficial to now have a four year term for Mayor?

The longer term for Mayor will allow a leader to see through strategic plans and decisions from inception to implementation. It will also allow the development of relationships with representatives from all levels of government, local business and industry leaders. Overall, I think there is merit in a four year term for the Mayor position.

6. What would your main priority be if elected?

There is much to be done … With a largely stagnated term of government almost behind us, we must now get into action on progressing an achievable traffic management strategy which addresses the impact of industry. We must develop effective lobbying strategies for:
a) better legislation and regulation on the health impacts of industry and
b) a fully operational police station.
There must be a comprehensive review of the systems and processes of land release and development, to address the growing housing crisis.

These are some of the important issues I hope to make progress on, should I be elected. Without the benefit of incumbency, these are difficult to prioritise. Instead, I put forward two priorities for Singleton Council:

1. Reinventing the dynamics in chambers, to engender respect for each other and the community. I believe this is achievable over time with new leadership, fresh faces and ideas, and a commitment to collaboration. Through lateral thinking and innovation, I believe we can alleviate factional warfare and the lack of community trust that has besieged current representatives.

2. Providing better education for councillors on the process of creating the legal instruments used to guide development. Understanding process is paramount to being an effective representative, particularly where advocacy is requested on community objections. Achieving these two aims would benefit us all.

7. What is your biggest challenge in winning this election?

There is a sector of every electorate who have no interest or knowledge of how local government works. Reaching those people, and inspiring them to take an interest in the future of their community, is perhaps the biggest challenge for all candidates.

8. Why should rate payers have faith in you?

I am a 5th generation Singleton local with a very large extended family throughout the local government area. I have a vested interest in the success of my community and its long term survival beyond mining for future generations of my family. The key question to consider is why a candidate wants to become mayor – is it to serve a personal career goal, to feed the human ego, to wield power? I have no need for any of these. I have raised my hand because of an overwhelming sense of duty; because I care about my community. As Mayor of Singleton, I would bring to the table intelligent leadership and the capacity to promote Singleton as a leader in the region, by being proactive on co-existence with mining and actively participating in setting world class standards on the monitoring of health impacts.

9. How would you rate the performance of the current council and what would you change?

The last term of local government in Singleton has been marred by political assassination, personal feuding, wasted time and resources. It has ended the careers of four excellent representatives who are tired of the infighting and personal costs. A lack of strategy to address unacceptable behaviour of councillors has seen not only its continuance, but a hefty financial cost to the community. Despite the fact there were achievements over the last term, they have been overshadowed by the countless code of conduct complaints. The change I’m standing for is cultural reinvention and an overhaul of accepted behaviour in council chambers.

10. How do you rate your chances of winning the election?

In our first foray into a popularly elected Mayor, it is almost impossible to predict outcomes. As the only new, independent candidate and considering the current climate for change in the electorate, I believe I have a fair chance of polling well at the election.