Former Darwin City Council CEO Scott Waters reflects on his four years in the role

Former City of Darwin chief executive Scott Waters reflects on the four years since Cyclone Marcus when he started in the role.

FORMER City of Darwin chief executive Scott Waters initially took on the role in the wake of Cyclone Marcus; four years on he says the council is in a stronger and more stable position than when he arrived.

Mr Waters arrived in Darwin in June 2018 and had to hit the ground running, ­restructuring the council while ensuring the post-Marcus clean-up went as smoothly as possible.

Four years later he is moving on to new pastures, taking on the role as chief executive at Noosa Council on the Sunshine Coast, leaving behind a better focused and structured council. “It’s been fantastic. When I came in council were after change and had been without a CEO for three to four months,” Mr Waters said. “We had to relook at our structure and how we ran council as a business and an organisation and with TC Marcus just gone we had to make a whole range of changes very quickly.

“At the time a lot of our council infrastructure was damaged so there was a lot of work we had to do.

“But at the same time the business of council had to continue as Marcus had moved on and the expectation was we were back to delivering services as before.

“I firmly believe that we have made Darwin a better place and we are now in a very good position to move forward to the future.”

City of Darwin CEO Scott Waters is leaving for the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Mr Waters managed initiatives that helped Darwin through the Covid-19 pandemic such as the MyDarwin voucher scheme, which pumped $4.2m into the local economy. Other initiatives he has overseen include the extensive upgrade of the Shoal Bay Waste Management ­Facility, employing 100 people to the Green Army and planting 15,000 trees to cool the city.

Then there’s council’s role in Smart Cities and completed asset management plans to get the most out of the city’s infrastructure.

“MyDarwin has been fantastic and one of the real success stories of our innovation team,” Mr Waters said.

“We brought that in at a time where it was the view it wasn’t seen as council’s role and now it’s viewed as ‘when is council going to bring out MyDarwin?’ which is great.

“Smart Cities is another. We’re well rewarded and nationally recognised for the work that we’ve done in that space.

“When I came into council we didn’t have one completed asset management plan, we sit across a billion dollars work of asset and now we have our asset management plans completed with 70 percent accuracy.

“But then that comes down to getting the culture right. Getting the team to think about community, being respectful, excellence and solidary are core values that drives us every day.

“It’s been a really busy nearly four years but I think we’ve set the city up for the future and we’re seeing all the economic growth coming back into the market.”

Three Mums Owner Minh Vu putting up the MyDarwin sticker with Scott Waters Picture Julianne Osborne

And now’s he on to take on a new challenge on the Gold Coast where his council will be working hard alongside neighbouring jurisdictions ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

Listening to the community and continuing the major projects that deliver for the community were his two major pieces of advice to those who continue to hold the reins at Darwin City Council.

“The biggest thing for council is to continue delivering on our major projects,” Mr Waters said.

“For the Lord Mayor and elected members we need them to really focus on how to deliver services to our community and we can’t lose sight of listening to them.

“The future is bright in Darwin, there’s so many great things that are happening for the city and making sure our city keeps looking fantastic is absolutely vital.

“And to the next CEO, just keep listening to your elected members. Be part of the community and enjoy the diversity of the city. Immerse yourself.

“It’s a great place, a great part of the world and it’s just about ready to take off.”

Originally published as Former Darwin City Council CEO Scott Waters reflects on his four years in the role