Membership
Chair - The Honourable Anthony Albanese MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
Member for Grayndler (NSW)
The Honourable Anthony Albanese was elected as Member for Grayndler in 1996.
Minister Albanese worked for the Commonwealth Bank and then studied economics at Sydney University.
From 1985-1989 he was a research officer for the then Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services, Tom Uren.
In 1989 Minister Albanese was elected Assistant General Secretary of the NSW ALP, a position he held until 1995.
As well as being Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, he holds the parliamentary position of Leader of the House.
Victoria - Deputy Chair - Cr Geoff Lake
President, Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)
Board Member, Municipal Association of Victoria
Councillor, City of Monash (VIC)
Cr Geoff Lake is President of the ALGA.
He has been a Councillor in the City of Monash since 2000 and was Mayor between 2002 and 2004.
Cr Lake is also a past President of the Municipal Association of Victoria.
He works as a lawyer at Minter Ellison Lawyers and is a board member of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
New South Wales - Cr Genia McCaffery
President - NSW Local Government Association
Mayor of North Sydney
Cr Genia McCaffery holds a Bachelor of Economics degree with Honours in government from the University of Sydney.
Cr McCaffery was elected as full-time Mayor of North Sydney in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999, 2004 and 2008.
In October 2004, Cr McCaffery was elected President of the NSW Local Government Association for a two-year term. Cr McCaffery was re-elected as President in 2006 and again in 2008.
Cr McCaffery has been a member of the Local Government Executive since 1998. She is on the Board of the Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority, and the NSW Environment Protection Authority, and the NSW Environmental Trust.
New South Wales - Cr Bruce Miller
President Shires Association of NSW
Vice President Australian Local Government Association
Councillor Cowra Shire Council
Cr Bruce Miller was elected Councillor for Cowra Shire Council in September 1991, elected Deputy Mayor 1992-1994, then Mayor from
1994-2008.
Cr. Miller was the Chairman of several Council Committees during his term as Mayor.
Cr Miller was elected to Shires Association Executive in June 2003, Senior Vice President Shires Association June 2004-2006 and elected as President Shires Association of NSW in June 2007.
New South Wales - Council of Capital City Lord Mayors - Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP
Lord Mayor - City of Sydney
Chairperson, Council of Capital City Lord Mayors (CCCLM)
In 2004 Lord Mayor Moore MP became the first popularly elected female Lord Mayor of Sydney, and has also been a Member of the New South Wales Parliament since 1988.
Lord Mayor Moore is a strong advocate for sustainable urban development and is committed to securing Sydney’s future as a competitive global city, and as one of the world’s leading green cities.
New South Wales - Professor Graham Sansom
Director, Centre for Local Government, University of Technology Sydney (UTS)
Director, Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government
Board Member, Commonwealth Local Government Forum
Professor Sansom has been Director of the UTS Centre for Local Government since 1998, and added the role of Director of the Australian Centre of Excellence for Local Government in 2009.
He was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Local Government Association, and has extensive experience in local and state government in both NSW and Western Australia.
Professor Sansom is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia, and editor of the Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance.
New South Wales - Mayor Ron Hoenig
Mayor - City of Botany Bay
President - Southern Sydney Regional Council Organisation
President - Australian Mayoral Aviation Council
Mayor Ron Hoenig, a barrister by profession, has served Local Government for more than 28 years as a Councillor.
During his time in office he has served on many State and Federal Consultative Committees, such as the Australian Aviation Consultative Council, a Federal Parliamentary Committee formed to investigate the establishment of a National Airport Authority. He is currently a member of the Federal Government’s Sydney Airport Community Forum.
New South Wales - Cr Jenny Dowell
Mayor - Lismore City Council
Cr Dowell is Mayor of Lismore, President of Northern Organisation Region of Councils and a member of the Australian Local Government Women’s Association.
Prior to Cr Dowell’s election to council in 2004, she spent 35 years in special education in Melbourne as a volunteer and Board member of many community organisations.
Northern Territory - Alderman Kerry Moir
President - Local Government Association of Northern Territory (LGANT)
Councillor, Darwin City Council
Ald Kerry Moir has served on the Darwin City Council since 1992 including as the Deputy Lord Mayor.
In 2000 she was appointed as the Darwin City Council representative on the Executive Committee and in 2004 she was elected Vice President of the Association.
In 2005 and 2006 she was appointed President of the LGANT.
Ald Moir was elected a director on the board of the Australian Local Government Association.
Queensland - Mayor Val Schier
Mayor - Cairns Regional Council
Mayor Schier presides over a region with two world heritage areas – the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests.
She sees the key challenges for the area are to conserve and enhance the environment, diversify the economy and maintain the well-being of the region’s diverse communities.
Queensland - Lord Mayor Campbell Newman
Lord Mayor - Brisbane City Council
President - Council of South East Queensland Mayors
Campbell Newman was elected as Lord Mayor of Brisbane in April, 2004. Cr Newman is committed to making Brisbane a smart thinking, easy living, world-class city.
A civil engineer by profession, Cr Newman had a 13-year career as an Australian Army Engineer, before moving into various private sector roles and an executive position at leading Queensland agribusiness, Grainco Australia.
Prior to entering Council, Cr Newman operated his own consulting firm, which specialised in bulk commodity logistics.
Cr Newman holds an honours degree in civil engineering and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Queensland.
Queensland - Cr Paul Bell AM
President - Local Government Association of Queensland
Councillor - Central Highlands Regional Council
With 24 years continuous service as a Councillor, including nine years as Mayor, Cr Bell has extensive experience in all aspects of Local democracy. Cr Bell is currently Deputy Mayor of the Central Highlands Regional Council and President of the Queensland Local Government Association.
Cr Bell is a Director of the Queensland Local Government Superannuation Board and past president and Board member of the Australian Local Government Association since 2000.
Cr Bell's service to Local Government saw him appointed a Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Australia Day honours.
Queensland - Mayor Allan Sutherland
Mayor - Moreton Bay Regional Council
Mayor Sutherland presides over Australia’s third largest council, representing a population of 350,000 and manages a budget of approximately $750m for Moreton Bay Regional Council.
Mayor Sutherland has over fifteen years of local government experience, was elected Mayor in 2004 and is currently managing the successful amalgamation of three large councils to form a single super-council between Brisbane City and the Sunshine Coast.
Mayor Sutherland is a strong supporter of working with all levels of government to get the infrastructure, planning, economic stimulus and environmental settings right.
South Australia - Mayor Mary-Lou Corcoran
Mayor - City of Victor Harbor
Cr Corcoran is Mayor of the City of Victor Harbor and is focused on working in the community which has the oldest population of any area in Australia.
This includes improved infrastructure for the residents, enhancing education facilities, health and civic facilities, local public transport, and improved recreational facilities.
South Australia – Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis
President – Local Government Association of South Australia
Mayor - City of Marion
Senior Lecturer – Flinders University School of Education
Mayor Lewis was first elected as Mayor of the City of Marion in 2000 and was re-elected in 2003 and 2006.
As a passionate supporter of reform in local government, Mayor Lewis has served the LGA State Executive Committee since 2001, the LGA’s Metropolitan Local Government Group and was elected Vice President of the LGA in 2006. She has been a member of the LGA’s Financial Sustainability Advisory Committee since its formation as well as the LGA Governance Advisory Committee and was elected President of the LGA in 2009.
Mayor Lewis has a strong interest in health promotion and community development.
Tasmania – Mayor Barry Easther OAM
President, Local Government Association of Tasmania
Mayor, West Tamar Council
Cr Easther was elected to West Tamar Council in 1983, elected Mayor 1990 – 1994 and from 2000 to the present.
Cr. Easther is a Board member of the Australian Local Government Association and for his service to local government and the community was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 and the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2009 Australia Day honours.
Victoria - Australian Local Government Women's Association
Cr Pam McLeod
Cr McLeod has represented the north ward on the Whittlesea Council since 2003.
One of the major projects she is focussing on is public transport.
Cr McLeod is involved in the Meadowglen Athletic Stadium Committee and chairs the Epping Community Activity Centre Committee.
Victoria - Cr Lisa Price
Mayor - Latrobe City Council
Cr Price has served the Latrobe Valley since 2003 as a member of local government. She has led Latrobe City Council through a number of periods of significant change and has identified opportunities for interagency and intergovernmental cooperation.
As Chair of Latrobe City Council's Climate Change Committee, Cr Price handles a diverse and complex range of issues whilst balancing the commercial and economic needs of the region.
Victoria - Mr Paul Slape
National Secretary - Australian Services Union (ASU) Mr Slape is National Secretary of the ASU which covers workers in local government.
He has held this position for 12 years and prior to that was Federal Secretary of the Municipal Employees Union.
Mr Slape is also Chair of the Victorian Grants Commission and was previously President of the Victorian Local Authorities Superannuation Board.
Victoria - Lord Mayor Robert Doyle
Lord Mayor - City of Melbourne
A Member of Victoria’s Parliament for 14 years, Lord Mayor Doyle was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party for four years.
He has also been Shadow Minister for Health and, in government, Parliamentary Secretary for Health.
Lord Mayor Doyle has extensive experience of regulatory, legislative and legal frameworks, and all aspects of public policy.
Victoria - Cr Bill McArthur
President, Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)
Director, Australian Local Government Association
Councillor, Golden Plains Shire
Cr Bill McArthur was elected MAV President in April 2009. Prior to this he was the Rural South Central representative on the MAV Board from 2005.
He has been a councillor in the Golden Plains Shire since 1996, serving two terms as Mayor in 2004 and 2005. Before council amalgamations in Victoria, Cr McArthur was a councillor with the Shire of Grenville.
Cr McArthur has a keen interest in roads issues, community planning and development and strategic land use planning.
Western Australia - Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi
Lord Mayor - City of Perth Lord Mayor Scaffidi is the Lord Mayor of the City of Perth and she has been a serving elected member since 2000.
She was elected as the 18th Lord Mayor for the City in October 2007.
Western Australia - National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA)
Cr Linton Reynolds AM JP
Mayor - City of Armadale (WA)
A Councillor since 1989, Cr Reynolds is Mayor of the City of Armadale and Chairman of the WA LG Grants Commission, which he joined in 1995.
A member of the State Executive from 1992-97 he had a lead role in the State / LG Road Funding Agreement and subsequently managed their road asset preservation and inventory program until 2002.
For services to local government he was awarded WALGA’s Local Government Medal in 2005 and an AM in 2006.
Western Australia - National Sea Change Taskforce - Cr Barry Sammels
Mayor - City of Rockingham
Cr Sammels is the Chair of the National Sea Change Taskforce and Mayor of the City of Rockingham in Western Australia.
He was first elected to Rockingham Council in 1997 and was elected Mayor in 2003.
The National Sea Change Taskforce was established in 2004 as a national body to represent the interests of coastal councils and communities experiencing the effects of rapid growth.
Western Australia - 
Cr Lynn Craige
Shire President - Shire of East Pilbara
President - Pilbara Regional Council
Member - State Council for WA Local Government Association (WALGA)
In 2003 Cr Craige was elected to Council of the Shire of East Pilbara, the world's largest shire.
She was elected to the position of Shire President in 2005.
Cr Craige is involved in many community organisations and is the President of the Pilbara Regional Council in addition to being on the State Council for WALGA.
Western Australia - Mayor Troy Pickard
Mayor - City of Joondalup
Deputy President - Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA)
Mayor Pickard has been involved in local government since 2001 as an elected member in two of Western Australia’s largest Local Government Authorities - the City of Stirling, as a Councillor and Deputy Mayor, and then the City of Joondalup where he was elected Mayor in 2006.
He has received numerous decorations and awards including a Distinguished Service Award from WALGA in 2005.
Mayor Pickard was elected as Deputy President of the Western Australian Local Government Association in 2007 and a board member of the Australian Local Government Association.
Western Australia - Mr Neil Hartley
National President - Local Government Managers Australia (LGMA)
As well as serving on a number of community groups and government project teams over the years, Neil is also a member of the State and National Boards of Local Government Managers Australia.
Neil is currently the National LGMA President and was a past WA State President.
Neil has worked in the local government industry since 1977 and has almost 20 years experience as a local government CEO. He has Accounting, Local Government and post-graduate Business qualifications.
