Benalla local Gail O’Brien is running for her second term on Benalla Rural City Council in the upcoming election.
Ms O’Brien has lived with her family in Benalla for more than 20 years, and currently lives on a Wagyu cattle farm at Goomalibee.
She says life on the farm and her diverse professional experiences have endowed her with the ability to bring insight and different perspectives to council.
“(During my first term) I have obtained truly valuable insights into what our diverse community wants and thinks,” she said.
These insights have pushed her to advocate for a range of things, and push for projects to get off the ground.
She said it was the ongoing projects that convinced her to run for council again, to see them to completion.
“We’ve got a few big projects that have already been funded by both state and federal governments, and I’d really love to see those started and finished, or close to finished,” she said.
These big projects include the Benalla Indoor Recreation Centre redevelopment, Benalla Art Gallery upgrade and Fawckner Dve Precinct redevelopment.
Other accomplishments include involvement with the committee behind the successful 2024 Benalla Street Art Festival, the establishment of the Benalla Service Hub and advocating with the Devenish community against the sand quarry.
“I think the face of Benalla is really changing; the demographic is changing, and the need seems to go up,” Ms O’Brien said.
“Everybody still wants all those basics like rubbish collection, roads fixed up, and there’s actually money around for that, which is great.”
She said, however, that some priorities needed to be reconsidered, such as climate change.
“Council have a climate change plan in progress, but we really need to get moving on that,” she said.
Ms O’Brien also mentioned advocacy for smaller regional towns, where people can get “a bit forgotten”.
“We’ve got some great communities around, and I really like to try to think that I’ve been able to support some of them during my term, and I’d like that to continue,” she said.
“Benalla is changing. We need to be aware of everybody in our community, not just one particular group.
“If we do that and involve everybody, the people who have lived here for ages, and also the new people, (it will be good).”