By Mark Wallace
Southern Highlands Express
May 19, 2021
Jane Crowley’s Let’s Get it Right team for the Wingecarribee Shire Council elections launched its campaign at Centennial Vineyards last week with a blistering attack on the now suspended council.
“We have all been disappointed, frustrated, and all too frequently embarrassed, by the gross underperformance of this council, Ms Crowley said.
A community should not be ashamed of its local government leadership.”
Using the example of the vineyard as a case study, Ms Crowley said that after losing its 2020 grape crop and half its 2021 crop to smoke taint and rain damage respectively, the vineyard “had to fight for two years to get a Development Application approved for a shed and when the shed was approved it came with 26 pages of conditions.”
She introduced the number two on her ticket, Nicole Smith, with whom she studied Communications at University.
“It is ironic, given the journey that we are now embarking upon, that my major was Organisational Communications, a critical skill that, sadly for the reputation of the Southern Highlands, our suspended council fundamentally lacked.”
Ms Smith is a successful businesswoman owner of Tin Shed Marketing, a creative agency. She is a lifelong resident of the Southern Highlands and a resident of Mittagong.
Others in the team are:
Jonathan Evans: born and raised in the Highlands. His professional background is in operations and supply-chain management and his focus is the Visitor Economy and Community Sport.
Sam Jones: raised in the Highlands and has worked in high school education for 20 years including Bowral High and Moss Vale High. Sam will focus on Education and Community Sport and Arts.
Eilish Maloney: a lifelong Highlander and a chef with international experience, including a Michelin two-starred restaurant in London. Eilish will focus on Youth issues, Food and Wine and Sustainability.
Aaron Neill-Stevens: relocated with his family to the Southern Highlands six years ago. He is now immersed in agritech and sustainability and will focus on Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Sustainability.
Barry Smith: a local dentist who had a distinguished career in the RAAF as a dental officer. His focus will be on Leadership and Community Sport and Small Business.
Lynn Watson: principal of Highland Recruitment. Her focus is on Jobs and Skills and Heritage and Economic Development and Small Business.
The article in the Southern Highlands Express