Councillor & Deputy Mayor 

I served for 13 years with the NSW Police Force, including supervisory, training and support roles.

My policing career included roles as a Supervising Sergeant, Field Training Officer, Regional Training Coordinator and Peer Support Officer, along with specialist work investigating child abuse and sexual assault.

I gave evidence and was cross-examined many times in court. My evidence, actions and decisions were questioned and scrutinised.

I also experienced situations where doing what I believed was right meant speaking up and challenging inappropriate conduct — including conduct involving senior-ranking officers.

My service was formally recognised through:

🏅 NSW Police Force Medal for Diligent & Ethical Service

🏅 Commendation for Excellent Police Work, Devotion & Dedication to Duty — following my off-duty arrest of a known violent offender.

🏅 Recognition from the NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner, Special Operations, for Outstanding Integrity.

That background taught me something I’ve carried throughout my life:

Integrity matters most when doing the right thing isn’t the easiest option.

Throughout my career I have been entrusted with responsibility for people, decisions and outcomes.

Within NSW Police I supervised teams, trained junior officers and coordinated police training across a large region of NSW.

I served as President of the NSW Blue Light Program, supporting youth and community policing initiatives.

I was later elected by my peers as Chairperson of the Board of AUSBUY – Australian Companies Institute, a national organisation promoting Australian-owned businesses.

These roles gave me practical experience in:

Governance • Strategy • Accountability • Financial Oversight • Leadership • Constructive Debate • Collective Decision-Making

Good leadership isn’t about having everyone agree with you.

It’s about listening, asking difficult questions, considering different views, making decisions and accepting responsibility for them.

After policing, I built a career in business.

I established Emergency ID Australia from scratch and operated it for approximately 18 years, growing it from a handful of products to more than 300 and supplying customers Australia-wide before successfully selling the business in 2023.

Running a business teaches you quickly that:

Every dollar matters. Every decision has consequences. Someone must ultimately be accountable.

You learn to budget, negotiate, manage people, understand regulation, embrace technology, solve problems and achieve outcomes with limited resources.

I believe ratepayer money deserves exactly the same respect.

Council money is community money.

Residents deserve to know where it is going, why it is being spent and what value they receive in return.

Community service has been part of my life for decades.

For approximately 10 years I volunteered with Beyond Blue as a public speaker, sharing my lived experience and speaking about mental health and post-traumatic stress with organisations and audiences around Australia.

I was also selected as one of 15 members of Beyond Blue’s national Advisory Group for the National Mental Health & Wellbeing Study of Police & Emergency Services.

I have also contributed to NSW Police Legacy’s BackUp for Life program and youth initiatives through NSW Blue Light.

These experiences reinforced something fundamental:

People deserve to be heard.

We won’t always agree. But people should be treated respectfully and be able to understand how and why decisions affecting them were made.

My husband Garry and I own and operate The Church Tasmania in Campbell Town, where we have invested significantly in restoring and bringing new life to an important 1857 heritage property.

Living, working and investing here gives me first-hand understanding of regional business, tourism, heritage, employment and the challenges and opportunities facing smaller communities.

But while Campbell Town is my home, I am not standing to represent Campbell Town alone.

ONE NORTHERN MIDLANDS.

MANY COMMUNITIES.

EVERY ONE MATTERS.

The Northern Midlands is made up of many towns, villages, farming districts and rural communities.

Each has different needs.

Where you live should not determine whether your voice reaches Council.

If elected, my responsibility will be to the entire Northern Midlands municipality.

I believe consultation should occur before decisions are effectively made — not afterwards simply to tick a box.

My approach is straightforward:

LISTEN → INVESTIGATE → EVIDENCE → DECIDE → EXPLAIN → DELIVER

Not everyone will agree with every Council decision.

But ratepayers should be able to ask:

What was considered?
What evidence informed the decision?
What will it cost?
Why was this option chosen?
Who benefits?
What outcome is expected?

And elected representatives should be prepared to answer.

That’s transparency and accountability.

I will ask questions.

I will challenge assumptions.

And importantly, I am prepared to change my position when better evidence demonstrates that I should.

I won’t support an idea simply because it comes from someone I usually agree with.

And I won’t reject a good idea because it comes from someone I have previously disagreed with.

Good ideas don’t belong to particular people.

Being progressive doesn’t mean change for the sake of change.

It means respecting what is worth preserving while being prepared to embrace better ideas, useful technology, innovation and new ways of delivering services.

Preserve what matters. Improve what isn’t working. Embrace good ideas. Plan for what comes next.

I believe a good Deputy Mayor should support the Mayor without simply becoming an echo of the Mayor.

They should work constructively with all Councillors, encourage respectful debate, ask questions, contribute their own views and recognise that Council decisions are ultimately collective decisions.

When required to perform the functions of Mayor, they should have the confidence, judgement and leadership ability to do so professionally.

I believe my background has prepared me well for that responsibility.

I won’t promise that I’ll always agree with you.

I won’t promise things one Councillor cannot realistically deliver.

And I won’t tell people what I think they want to hear simply to win a vote.

I WILL:

LISTEN.
DO MY HOMEWORK.
ASK QUESTIONS.
EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE.
RESPECT DIFFERENT VIEWS.
SPEND RATEPAYER MONEY WITH CARE.
EXPLAIN MY DECISIONS.
ACCEPT SCRUTINY.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY.

And always remember who Council is there to serve.