Meet Woollahra’s new councillors Sarah Swan, Sean Carmichael, Merrill Witt, Nicola Grieve

A solicitor who moonlights as a yoga teacher, a marketing guru and more than one blast from the past. Meet the newest members of Woollahra council and find out who was elected mayor.

Four new councillors have been elected in Woollahra and each has vowed to hit the ground running for what will be one of the shortest terms of local government on record in NSW.

With less than three years until their time is up, we introduce the new councillors and reveal their plans to improve life and advocate for their constituents.

Liberal Susan Wynne was re-elected as mayor on Wednesday night with veteran councillor Isabelle Shapiro to serve as deputy.

Woollahra Mayor Susan Wynne and deputy mayor Isabelle Shapiro.

Cr Wynne said she was delighted to head up a female-dominated council and confirmed this would be her last term in local government, bringing her to 16 years of service by the time of the next election in 2024.

With 10 out of its 15 councillors women, Woollahra has the highest number of elected female councillors in the state.

The result is more than double the female councillor representation – 31 per cent – across councils in NSW since the 2017 election.

Female councillor representation at Woollahra has risen consistently in recent years, from three councillors in 1995, six from 1999-2011, seven in 2012 and nine in 2017.

“It’s a big honour but also a big responsibility and one I don’t take lightly,” Cr Wynne said.

“I thought going into this year things would be so much different. I thought we’d be meeting face-to-face and talking about different issues but we’re still here on Zoom talking about keeping the community safe — which is a huge focus.

“Then there’s the poor small businesses – so many restaurants have told me they’re closing doors because they don’t have any staff.”

Cr Wynne said she had no doubt there would be “tough conversations” over the next 18 months to balance serving the needs of the community with maintaining a strong budget.

She also revealed the one project she hoped to see get off the ground during her tenure.

“I hope by the time I retire from local government we will have the cinema in Double Bay,” she said.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Sean Carmichael on the council.

SEAN CARMICHAEL

When the Liberal’s Sean Carmichael was first elected to Woolhara Council he was just 20 and pulling beers at The Golden Sheaf in Double Bay.

Now almost a decade after his first term, which concluded in 2012, the lifelong resident of the Woollahra council area, has been elected again.

Since his last stint on the council he’s worked in government policy in addition to a stint in government relations and strategy for a medical research institute.

Now the postgraduate student, who is studying a Master of Public Policy, has plans to househunt in the area for a home to move in with his partner of almost four years, Nathan.

“So many people finish up their time in office proud of what they’ve done but also wishing they’d done this or that,” Cr Carmichael said.

“I’ve got the privilege of coming back in my mid 30s with the benefit of hindsight but also that freshness which I think is quite refreshing.’’

Top of Cr Carmichael’s priorities includes revitalising Edgecliff – a suburb he once called home.

“It’s a convenient suburb but it’s stale,’’ he said.

“I think some courage and determination could change that.’’

Cr Carmichael said while he believed the public transport hub was the “logical” place for some development to occur he agreed the decision to reject the 45-storey Edgecliff Centre development was the right one.

Another of his ambitions is to pave the way for the Double Bay cinema – a project that was on the table way during his initial stint on the council.

“Double Bay still desperately needs a cinema and it’s disappointing we’re still debating this 10 years after I’ve left,” Cr Carmichael said.

“No progress has been made, no shovels have been turned and no plans have been expedited.

“A cinema is such an important component of what forms a fun night out. Double Bay has got a great future ahead of it and lots of life left in it.”

Sarah Swan is lawyer and yoga teacher.

SARAH SWAN

With her history as a lawyer who deals with everything from family violence to matters bound for the Land and Environment Court, Woollahra Council is the lucky recipient of invaluable experience in Sarah Swan.

Cr Swan, a Liberal Party member who also teaches a seniors yoga class multiple times a week, said while there were multiple issues she intended to progress, her most important role was to act as an advocate and voice of constituents.

Family violence is an area she feels warrants particular attention.

“We talk about Covid being a pandemic but I can tell you right now family violence is rife in our community and high on my level of awareness,” Cr Swan said.

“I meet people almost every day facing incredibly difficult situations, some of them are unspeakable really, and so being able to give a voice to those who otherwise wouldn’t have one was one of the reasons I decided to run.”

Cr Swan said she would also be taking a keen interest in planning controls.

“During the election process it became quite evident overdevelopment was one of the main issues,” Cr Swan said.

“That’s really a priority to me – making sure we have the systems and policies in place so it doesn’t get to that point (the Land and Environment Court). That’s where my expertise and fresh perspective comes in handy.”

Cr Swan said after witnessing the mental health impacts of the pandemic on the clients of her legal work and yoga classes, she was also determined to provide the community with Covid safe ways to exercise and socialise including the possibility of outdoor community fitness classes.

Nicola Grieve says it’s never been more important to support the Greens

NICOLA GRIEVE

Nicola Grieve is also making her return to Woollahra Council following a stint from 2008 to 2012 where she served alongside Cr Carmichael.

The Greens councillor works as a staffer for another of her former Woollahra councillors – the now MP David Shoebridge.

Cr Grieve said she was honoured by the support she received during the election and believed it was due to the recognition environment was a priority.

“We’re in a climate change crisis so it’s more important than ever there are strong Greens on council,” Cr Grieve said.

“We’re losing our tree canopy – Woollahra used to have one of the biggest canopies of trees but with every DA that goes in that’s getting chipped away and we’re also losing our street trees.”

Cr Grieve said she would also advocate to have the needs of the residents of all socio-economic backgrounds prioritised.

“The gap between those who have and have-not is only widening so it’s important we assist those who need it,” Cr Grieve said.

“For example, it is more cost effective for us to run three childcares than one and council knows that but under previous councils it was decided to leave it to the private operators even though access to affordable childcare is so crucial.

“Our public schools are at capacity – now more than ever we need a new public high school.

“The people who service our community should be able to afford to live here and we need affordable housing stock.”

Cr Grieve said while the responsibility for many of those issues lay with state government, there was nonetheless much the council could do to pave the way for change.

She is also an advocate for safe, separated bike paths and hopes the delayed works on Rose Bay promenade will indeed restart in April.

“Currently the promenade is not safe because parents and children under 12 are already allowed to ride mixed in with walkers, dogs and the elderly,” Cr Grieve said.

Merrill Witt is a long time community advocate.

MERRILL WITT

After years of interacting with the council as a strong voice on behalf of residents associations, Merrill Witt decided the best way to get things done was to join them.

The founding member of the Vaucluse Residents’ Association has also served on the executive of the Double Bay Residents’ Association and collaborated with the Darling Point Society to raise concerns about the draft Edgecliff Planning Strategy.

Now serving as an independent with Residents First, Cr Witt said the fate of Edgecliff remained one of her key concerns.

“Obviously everyone is on same page about the need to revitalise Edgecliff in some respect but to propose to densify it to that extent doesn’t make sense,” Cr Witt said.

“There’s already so much pressure on our roads and infrastructure and we don’t need to do it to meet our housing targets.”

Cr Witt also wants to see a more co-ordinated approach to preserving heritage in the area that avoided 11th-hour interim orders imposed.

“It’s not fair to the owners and it’s not fair to the community,” Cr Witt said.

“We’re losing a lot of our beautiful old mansions in Vaucluse and in Rose Bay we are losing our Californian and Federation bungalows.

“I mainly got involved because I really care about trying to protect local character and the ambience of the area. I am not anti-development, I just think we need to think very carefully about what is appropriate development.”

Cr Witt said residents had also brought to her attention issues with planning controls in Double Bay and the impact they could have on the fashion and retail industry.

“Double Bay is characterised by these beautiful boutique tenancies that give the suburb a flavour that Bondi Junction doesn’t have,” she said.