Advocacy in its many forms

Published on 21 May 2025

Advocacy means supporting a cause or idea—but as Mayor, it takes many different forms in different settings.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve met with government, not-for-profit, and business partners to raise issues and share ideas important to our community.

At the May meeting of the Country Mayors Association at Parliament House in Sydney, the focus was on health services and the challenges faced by regional areas and supporting rural communities. Locally this issue is one that has been raised in community engagement and activism often, from maternity through to our aged care community.

We heard from the NSW Minister for Regional Health, the NSW Rural Doctors Network, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (NSW), and the Shadow Minister for Regional Health.

According to the Australian Medical Association, Australia could face a shortage of more than 10,600 GPs by 2031. It’s a real challenge to attract people into general practice, and even harder to get them working in rural areas. That’s why councils like ours are pushing for better training programs, flexible jobs, and financial support for the health sector.

National Volunteer Week

National Volunteer Week, between May 19–25, is Australia’s biggest celebration of volunteering. Thank you to the volunteers who keep our sports clubs, community groups and emergency services running—your work is outstanding.

The SES WOW Day (Wear Orange Wednesday) was held on May 21 as part of Volunteer Week – and at the peak of intense storms and flooding. Wearing orange is a simple but meaningful gesture of thanks to the SES volunteers who give so much time to help others. Their efforts in this latest weather event and always are just extraordinary.

At the May Council meeting, we welcomed six fantastic community members to the Australia Day Committee. One of their key tasks is helping recognise locals who go above and beyond. If you know volunteers who deserve recognition, please consider nominating them when the Australia Day Awards open later this year.