Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews, is passionate about seeing more women in local government and hopes to conduct a community forum on the Coast next year to encourage women to stand for the Council elections in September.
Clr Matthews played host on October 12 to the Australian Local Government Women’s Association (ALGWA) Executive Board Meeting, which was held at The Entrance Visitor Centre. “The meeting went well, ” she said.
“We got through the business at hand and Board members enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Central Coast. “I am looking forward to bringing them back next year to host the community forum. ” Clr Matthews, who was elected to the Board last year, said one of her first orders of business had been to get the Board to come to the Coast.
“Encouraging and promoting women into leadership roles is a key passion of mine which is why I stood for the Board in the first place, ” she said. “Women bring a unique and interesting perspective to leadership roles, particularly in local government, as we are often very active in our local communities.
“That commitment and activism can translate into a leadership role in councils where you can be a part of making decisions that have a positive and lasting impact on your local community. “I took the opportunity to show (the Board members) just what the Coast has to offer for visitors. ” ALGWA NSW president and Lithgow Councillor, Cassandra Coleman, said next year’s local government elections were a priority for the Board.
“Our aim is to have gender equity in Local Government – we want 50% of elected representatives to be women, ” Clr Coleman said. “We will be doing everything we can over the next 12 months to meet this target and ensure women’s voices are heard in their local communities. ” ALGWA is the peak representative body supporting women in Local Government.
Source: Media release, Oct 12 Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews Media statement, Oct 14 Central Coast Mayor, Lisa Matthews