Pauline Gordon began as Campaspe Shire Council chief executive at a tumultuous time, in the middle of the floods, but her commitment to the community never wavered.
She officially started her role on October 24 but decided to come on a week earlier as a volunteer to help out with emergency management.
This is her seventh role in local government, with her career in different councils spanning more than 30 years.
Ms Gordon has worked as a director and acting chief executive, but this is her first role as chief executive.
“My first local government position was at Bendigo Council, before they amalgamated into Greater Bendigo,” Ms Gordon said.
She realised quickly that her desire to serve the community was more than possible, through working in a council setting.
That motivated her to take on roles at Sunshine Coast Council in Queensland, Nillumbik Shire Council in Eltham and Mornington Peninsula Shire Council.
She was responsible for managing a team of about 900 staff when she worked at Sunshine Coast Council, the third largest council in Australia.
“One of the things I have learned is that every local government is different in terms of what you do, what the community wants from council, the different demographics and different services,” she said.
There was a brief period where she stepped away from local government and took on a position with the Department of Human Services.
“Part of that role was actually coming up and working with all the childcare centres and preschools across the Loddon Mallee region,” Ms Gordon said.
“I spent time in Echuca during that role and I really, really loved it. I’ve always had such a soft spot for the whole region.
“Then I went on to Bendigo Community Health where I worked for a few years and again, we had some services that were based up in Echuca, so coming here wasn’t a completely new thing for me.”
Ms Gordon said when she saw the Campaspe role come up, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of familiarity.
“It was almost like a feeling of coming home even though I hadn't lived here and that was because I know the area, I know the people and I know the local government network,” she said.
“I don't know all of the chief executives, but I know a lot and have worked with a lot. By having that support system, you don’t feel like you're coming in completely new.”
For Ms Gordon, community is at the heart of everything she does.
“It’s about working with our communities to deliver what they need, so they can live their lives more fully,” she said.
“That’s why we do what we do and that’s what I’m most passionate about.
“I always say to people that my role is to translate bureaucracy into community speak and community speak into bureaucracy.”
In charge of managing 470 staff members at Campaspe Shire Council, there is no doubt Ms Gordon was thrown in the deep end when she started as chief executive.
When she first arrived, there was barely any road access into town, which meant she had about 10 days with no furniture in her house.
She ended up improvising with an inflatable mattress and a deck chair.
Ms Gordon said the road to recovery would be a long one but council would do everything in its power to support the community, with a particular focus on Rochester, Echuca East, Echuca Village and farmers.
As part of the recovery process, council has signed up several contractors to try to fast-track road repairs; it is reviewing the flood study; it continues to advocate for the extension of the free waste program; and is encouraging ministers to visit the region.
She said council would also be looking at facilitating a number of programs for farmers, where council will bring in experts to determine what kind of support farmers may need to get back on their feet for next season.
“When I think of everybody in the community, I can’t even begin to imagine what they’ve gone through and are still going through,” Ms Gordon said.
“For that first week or two weeks, so many of our own staff were impacted. This is something I don’t think the community knows but we probably only had about 40 or 50 staff on the ground because everyone was isolated or protecting their own homes.”
Ms Gordon said she would like to see a number of changes take place across the shire, including increasing access to mental health support services, making the entire region more appealing to tourists and pushing the message that Campaspe is open for business — particularly after the floods.
“I also think we need to harness the opportunities that come with being a border community,” she said.
“We don’t need to duplicate if there are opportunities that we can collaborate on. And we should be collaborating because for the general community there’s no line, there’s no demarcation zone.
“We need to improve our communication and our engagement as a council, which is another thing I’m passionate about.”
Ms Gordon’s vision is that community and council work in tandem, that there’s a connectedness between the two and that the community knows council is there to help.
While she is aware council is not going to get every move right every time, she said the intent would always be to do better.
As for how long she will be staying on as chief executive, Ms Gordon said she would stick around for as long as the community wanted her.