She is one of five new councillors elected at the December 4 election, and Cr Hannan believes she will be quick to gain experience and exposure to the responsibilities of leading local government.
‘‘Carly is someone I look at as a future leader of the Berrigan Shire, and being deputy gives her an opportunity to see how that goes in the next couple of years,’’ Cr Hannan said.
‘‘It’s an exciting new time to be a councillor in the Berrigan Shire.
‘‘We’ve got five new councillors — and four new females — on the council, and for those councillors to have the faith to put me back in that leadership is very gratifying.’’
Cr Hannan said the new councillors will need some time to find their feet in their new roles, but he sees priorities in the first year of this council to be financial planning and completion of Berrigan’s local environment plan.
‘‘We’ll continue to put focus on our region as a whole and emphasis on understanding we all play a part — that includes tourism, health, digital connectivity, housing,’’ Cr Hannan said.
‘‘If we can take that on a regional approach, communities will continue to thrive.’’
Cr Hannan said the refreshed council offered an important range of diversity, with a mix of young mothers, professional women, experienced councillors and business people ‘‘around the table’’.
He added the area is a ‘‘great place to live, work and invest in’’ and he hopes to see continued steady growth.
He and CEO Karina Ewer agreed the ‘‘hotly contested’’ election has resulted in a council that is truly representative of the area.
She highlighted the wide demographic range of the new council, including a variety of age and gender, and the first known Indigenous councillor — Dr Julia Cornwell McKean — elected to council.
Dr McKean is a Wiradjuri woman who only discovered her ancestry four years ago, her father having been a victim of the Stolen Generation.
She hopes to introduce more First Nations cultural acknowledgment to Berrigan Shire during her term.
Ms Ewer says council has a strong history in women’s representation, and when no women stood at the 2016 election, she says the former council made efforts to encourage women to run.
‘‘They (the former council) actively encouraged it by employing me, going to people who would be good representatives and talking to them about being a representative next time,’’ she said.
‘‘Some even stood down to make way for new people.’’
‘‘The previous council was an anomaly in Berrigan’s history — Berrigan has a strong female leadership, but no women ran last election.
It has resulted in a 50-50 split of men and women on council.
Berrigan Shire’s new councillors are Renee Paine, Cr Marriott, Ted Hatty, Sarah McNaught, and Cr Cornwell McKean.
In addition to Cr Hannan, re-elected to council were Roger Reynoldson and John Taylor.
