With voters heading to the polls for local government elections in September, the NSW Government is providing support to encourage more women to consider running for their local council.
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The Office of Local Government and Women NSW have jointly committed $160,000 in funding for two women's organisations to host a series of candidate information workshops targeted at underrepresented groups of women.
The Australian Local Government Women's Association (ALGWA) NSW Branch and Women for Election will deliver workshops covering leadership skills, how to run a successful campaign as well as the roles and responsibilities of elected councillors.
Wingello candidate Jesse Fitzpatrick is running on a ticket with Mittagong's Erin Foley and fellow Wingello local Tess Duffy.
He says female voices on Wingecarribee Council have been missing.
"Considering that the board of a council is supposed to be a representation of our 52,000 residents Wingecarribee, it has been male-dominated for the last 50 years and male only for the last 15," he said.
"Look where that has gotten us.
"I can't wait to walk through the door with two mums, a true representation of the Southern Highlands and an inspiration for my daughters," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
He said the government funding was a small price to pay to attempt to get a 50/50 ratio of men and women on councils.
"Simply having any women residing on council will be encouragement for more to flow through," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
"We just need to break the status quo first and have some ladies elected."
Aimed at empowering women with the knowledge to run as candidates, these workshops will be delivered by women with lived experience as political candidates, as well as facilitators who have served or worked in local government.
They will be held at multiple locations in Sydney and in regional and rural areas to ensure women around NSW have access to these valuable training opportunities. And will include dedicated workshops run by First Nations trainers to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to run for local government.
Providing funding for these organisations is part of a wider campaign by the Office of Local Government to encourage greater diversity in candidate representation at the upcoming elections.
The most recent Candidate and Councillor Diversity Report shows the number of female councillors rose from 31.2 percent to 39 percent at the 2021 Local Government elections.
The report also shows 3.9 percent of councillors were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, 10.1 percent of councillors were linguistically diverse and 4.2 percent of councillors were aged 18 to 29.
Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig said councils must better reflect the diversity of NSW communities.
"A lack of confidence or information about what it means to be a councillor can hold a lot of people back from putting their hand up, especially women," he said.
"We hope with this support, these workshops can encourage more women and people from diverse backgrounds to take the plunge and represent their communities in the elections this September."
Women's Minister Jodie Harrison agreed that increasing the number of women who serve in local government would better reflect the communities they represent.
"These workshops provide women with pathways to grow their careers in politics," Ms Harrison said.
"We want to see more women elected to bring NSW closer to its goal of gender parity on councils and inspire the next generation of women in politics."
Information about the workshops can be found online at Women for Election and ALGWA.
Sally Foy
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
Regional reporter based in the Southern Highlands. I am also a mother and advocate for children with a disability and epilepsy.
