New Faces At the Council Table

Published on 22 October 2019

Five Councillors were sworn into office at the City of Busselton chambers during a special meeting of Council last night. Councillor elect Jo Barrett-Lennard was unfortunately absent from the swearing in ceremony and will undertake the declaration of office for an elected member on Wednesday 23 October 2019.

Post the 2019 Local Government Election, Busselton City Council will see four new faces at the table: Phill Cronin (4,078 votes); Sue Riccelli (3,682 votes); Kate Cox (3,658 votes) and Jo Barrett-Lennard (3,388 votes). Ross Paine (3,579 votes) was voted back onto Council for his second term in office as was Paul Carter (3,415 votes).

These Councillors will serve alongside Cr Grant Henley, Cr Lyndon Miles and Cr Kelly Hick who were not up for re-election in 2019.

The first order of business of the newly formed Council was the voting in of the new Mayor and Deputy Mayor, noting that these positions are only held for a term of two years. Cr Grant Henley was voted Mayor unopposed. Cr Kelly Hick and Cr Ross Paine both nominated for Deputy Mayor with Cr Hick securing the position six votes to two.

Mayor Henley has been serving on the City of Busselton Council since 2009. He served as Deputy Mayor and was voted Mayor in 2015. This is his third term serving as Mayor of the City of Busselton.   

Mayor Henley thanked his fellow Councillors for the trust they had placed in him: “This is a responsibility I take very seriously and it’s certainly not a role that can be done without the backing and support of a dedicated team. 

We have a dynamic and interesting mix of personalities and capabilities at the Council table and I am confident that the community will benefit from their broad range of skills, their expertise and energy.

I thank members of the public who took the time to vote in the election and extend my appreciation to all the nominees who put their hand up for this important job.

In closing I extend my sincerest gratitude to John McCallum, Coralie Tarbotton and Rob Reekie who were not returned to City Council through the election process.   These three individuals have made a great contribution to their community helping to advance major projects such as the Busselton Foreshore redevelopment, Dunsborough town centre upgrades and the Busselton Margaret River Airport.

I have enjoyed working alongside these three individuals over the years and can attest to their personal fortitude and integrity.   I especially want to acknowledge Coralie Tarbotton and John McCallum who both served as Deputy Mayor and were a great support to me.”

The Objectives out lined in this media release are aligned to Key Goal Area 6 in the City of Busselton’s Strategic Community Plan (Review 2019): Leadership that is visionary, collaborative and accountable.

 Ends.   Media enquiries can be directed to [email protected]