Political young gun Imogen Draisma leads Labor on to Kiama Council

A 22-year-old Labor hotshot headlines the crop of fresh faces on Kiama Council with only four of nine previous councillors earning re-election.

The residents of the Kiama municipality have voted for a complete overhaul with five new councillors elected to the nine-person council.

Among the fresh faces are two Independents, a Green and two Labor representatives, including 22-year-old Imogen Draisma who was their lead candidate.

Ms Draisma, elected alongside 28-year-old Wodi Wodi man Stuart Larkins, works for NSW parliament and is studying a double degree in law and arts.

She said she wanted the council to be more collaborative with its residents in order for it to be more representative of them.

“The council in its previous state was not reflective of the community,” Ms Draisma said.

“The communication between council and the community is the biggest issue.

“As a young person, I wasn’t represented and there weren’t any channels for community consultation for people my age. A lot of decisions are made by council that affect me directly so community consultation is absolutely paramount to ensure fair representation.”

The political debutant described the Covid-prolonged campaign as the “longest job interview ever”, revealing there were plenty of highlights as well as some antiquated lowlights.

“The highlight of the campaign was being recognised by people at pre-poll and on election day,” Ms Draisma explained.

“Having them recognise the work we were doing on the campaign and what a collaborative effort it was. We had a diverse team reflective of all the little villages and people were happy to see change.

“On the day of the election, a former councillor said there shouldn’t be so many women on council because they would be taking leave to have children.

“There were also smaller conversations on the campaign trail where things were said that wouldn’t have been said if I were older or a man.

“For Stuart and I (these attitudes) meant we have to prove we knew what we were talking about, for us to be measured and show that we knew the functions of council.”

Ms Draisma and Mr Larkins combined age is still some 32-years fewer than Kiama’s eldest statesman Independent Warren Steel, who has spent 25 years on the council across two spells.

The to-be Labor councillor hasn’t let her age be a hindrance yet, stating she wants to work hand-in-hand with the other councillors for the best outcomes for the state’s smallest council.

“A number of councillors have been very welcoming of Stuart and I,” the Minnamurra local said.

“We will be trying to foster communication channels (with other councillors), so in order to be collaborative, it’s very much dependent on how they carry themselves.

“It’s a short term of two years and nine months. There’s a lot to be done so we don’t have any leeway to be adversarial if we want to get the most out of it.”

Greens councillor Kathy Rice was re-elected with Jodi Keast replacing Andrew Sloan.

Ms Rice was the only woman on the previous council, and she admits she is delighted she will be joined by three others come next month, adding she’s enthused by the new mix of councillors.

“It’s magnificent, it’s fantastic, it’s like a breath of fresh air,” she said.

People ask for diversity and you want diversity in all sorts of ways, be it age, ability, gender, ethnic background.

(Having more women on council) is like a breath of fresh air. A woman’s perspective of the community is often very different from a man’s. Women often spend more time raising children in the community and have different values.

“Through my time on council the men have all been very respectful, but they aren’t always able to see things from a woman’s perspective in the community.

“I think the two new young councillors are terrific. They’re intelligent and they will have a very positive impact on council.”

While the result was declared on Monday afternoon, there has been a submission for a recount to take place prior to the first council sitting on January 11 where the new mayor will be elected.

Ms Rice, who was deputy mayor between 2016 and 2018, said she intended on standing for the position.

“I will be one of the people nominating,” she said.

“I think my track record speaks for itself. I have been a very engaged councillor for nine years, I have had a lot of professional development so I believe I have prepared very well for the job.”

Ms Draisma signalled she wouldn’t contest the mayorship at this stage in her fledgling political career.

“Absolutely not,” Ms Draisma said.

“It was difficult to run for council as a young person and I definitely can’t put my hand up at this time and say I’m the right person for the job (as mayor).

“Ultimately I want to get into the right pattern to balance work, uni and representing the community, but I am not going to rule anything out in the future.”