The history making mayor

Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne made history twice; as the youngest councillor to be elected and then as a youngest mayor, which also makes her only the third female mayor in council’s history. So how can we get more young women involved in civic life?

Michelle Byrne made history twice when she became the youngest female councillor and then the youngest mayor elected to The Hills Shire Council. Picture: Simon Bullard

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Hills Shire Mayor Michelle Byrne made history when she joined the council in her 20s, becoming the youngest councillor to be elected.

She made history again in 2012 when she became the youngest mayor, a feat which also made her only the third female mayor in the council’s history.

Michelle Byrne became only the third female mayor in the council’s 109-year history.

Having grown up in The Hills, Cr Byrne joined the local council to “have a say in the decisions that are made that will ultimately determine the future” of the area.

“I also wanted to ensure that The Hills remains a great place to live, work and play for current and future generations,” she said.

“It is my hope that my own children grow up loving The Hills community as much as I do.”

Her “incredible journey” in local government has not always been easy though.

“It was tough at first, I had no experience with local government and very little experience in politics,” she said.

“I’m sure there were those who believed that I was too young to contribute, though I think I proved them wrong.”

In addition to the mayor, the Hills Shire Council has three female councillors out of 12.

Cr Byrne said “more women are putting up their hands” to run for council but said it would be “great to have even more women involved”.

“The challenge for many women is juggling a career with raising children,” she said.

“It is hard to strike a balance between the two, however society is more accepting these days of working mothers and the realisation that you can work and still be a great mum.

“Local government is perfect for working mums because the hours are flexible, depending on the time of day the community needs you.

“I’ve had the opportunity to serve my community whilst ensuring I am still able to spend plenty of time with (my) family, particularly with the support of my husband helping out when I attend evening meetings and community gatherings.

“That flexibility is not as available once you move to other levels of Government where you find yourself having to spend a greater number of hours out of each day at Parliament.

“I think we need to find a way to give women the confidence, skills and support they need to pursue civic life and ensure they realise that they can make a valuable contribution to their communities.”

Figures released last year by the Local Government of NSW showed that 29.5 per cent of all elected councillors in the state were women and just 14 per cent of councils had female general managers.

Cr Byrne said she believed the low number of female general managers was “something we can address positively for the future”.

“In the corporate world, there’s no doubt that women are making great strides in their careers, but taking time out to raise children often puts a woman’s career behind that of her male counterparts,” she said.

“It can mean that in senior management levels, women are missing despite having the skills and abilities to effectively manage large organisations.”

Cr Byrne will speak at the International Women’s Day breakfast hosted by the Rotary Club of Norwest Sunrise on Friday from 7am-9am at Aveo Bella Vista.

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