Long term Canberra Region campaigner

“Canberra is a great place, but we can make it greater”. That's how I began a recent interview. And it is true, quite true, as anyone who has lived in the area as long as my family can tell. My parents came to the area in 1955 and in 1967, Mary and I built a house in Garran. We moved to Queanbeyan and a few years later I was successfully in standing for Council. All up, I served 31 years as Councillor, the last 17 as Mayor.

During that time, I have always seen myself as a resident of the region, not just Queanbeyan. The State/Territory border is a gate not a barrier. The same people live on either side, with largely the same wishes and hopes and needs and problems.
As mayor, I have been involved in a lot of regional groups – Canberra Business Council, Regional Leaders' Forum, and been on so many others including the Migrant Resource Centre. My work has been about regional issues.

Sometimes Queanbeyan's interest have differed from those of the ACT government of the day, which meant that occasionally we were at loggerheads, but mostly it has been a cooperative and harmonious relationship. I want that to continue and will work to ensure the needs of the ACT and the region are considered in decision making processes.