City of Canada Bay Council announces new General Manager
Peter Gainsford has recently stepped into the role of General Manager at Canada Bay Council replacing retiring council vetran Gary Sawyer. Sawyer was well respected within the community and leaves behind a legacy of good local policy and procedures and some significant local infrastructure. Some of you may know Gainsford from his most recent post as Deputy General Manager Assets and Environment for Inner West Council. He has an MBA and a Degree in Civil Engineering. He started at Leichhardt Council as an apprentice in March 1983 and rose through the ranks in Corporate Services and Asset Management to become Director of Infrastructure and Service Delivery in 2002. He’s not to be confused with the other “Peter” who worked as General Manager at the former Leichhardt Council (Peter Head) who was replaced when the Inner West (Leichhardt, Marrcikville and Ashfield) councils merged.
Mayor Tsirekas and other councilors are excited by the appointment, stating that “This is a wonderful opportunity for Peter. He takes over the leadership of Council in a strong position but following a time of change and uncertainty. I am sure the staff will join me to make him welcome as we move into a period of stability where we can build on delivering great services for our community. The other Councillors and I are looking forward to working with Peter”.
Congratulations to 2018 Citizens of the Year
Newtown’s Sarah Midgley, NSW Co-Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality is Inner West Council’s 2018 Citizen of the Year. Congratulations also to Bundjalung-Munajali woman, Euphemia Bostock, who is Senior Citizen of the Year and Anne Maree Hoang, mental health awareness advocate who is Young Citizen of the Year.
Midgley has spent vast amounts of time volunteering to help LGBTIQ people achieve social inclusion. As NSW Co-Convenor and Director of Australian Marriage Equality, Sarah spent many hours helping at early morning market stalls, running community forums after work and on weekends, rostering, and managing other volunteers.
“Hearing that Australia voted YES and then seeing the legislation pass through the parliament were both amazing moments for me,” Sarah said.
Bostock is a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative (she designed the Boomalli logo), and has worked across a variety of media including textile, sculpture and printmaking, and tirelessly promoted the work and improved the lifestyle of Aboriginal artists across Australia for more than fifty years. Euphemia and her brothers Lester and Gerald were founding members of Sydney’s Aboriginal Black Theatre in 1972. What an achiever!
Hoang is honest about her mental health journey and as volunteer with the national youth mental health foundation ‘headspace’ has assisted in raising awareness of mental health particularly amongst culturally and linguistically diverse communities.