AFTER contesting three elections over three years, Andrea Otto is hoping a new program will give her the edge she needs ahead of next year’s local government elections.
Ms Otto is among 65 women taking part in the State Government’s Women Leading Locally program which aims to address the gender imbalance in local government, with a goal of achieving 50 per cent women councillors and mayors by 2025.
“I’ve actually run in three elections, but never been elected,” she said.
“I’ve done a local election, a state election and a federal election. I’ve done the trio. But really what I’m hoping to get out of this program is the skills and the training to be able to better deliver my message and hopefully to get elected.”
Ms Otto, who lives at Koroop, sought a seat on Gannawarra Shire Council in 2020, stood for the federal seat of Nicholls in 2022 and contested the state electorate of Murray Plains in 2022.
Ms Otto said the current Gannawarra Shire Council – which has only one female councillor – was dysfunctional and did not reflect its community.
“When we look at community problems, if women aren’t sitting at the table at a local level, then it’s very hard to address those issues,” she said.
Ms Otto said she had some insight into the internal operations of local government from her work as a management accountant for Swan Hill Rural City Council.
But she appreciated the broader and diverse perspectives and ideas from the other women in the program, which kicked off last month in Melbourne.
The Women Leading Locally program offers a combination of face-to-face peer support events and online workshops across campaigning, leadership and governance and aims to equip and inspire participants to campaign in next year’s council elections.
Ms Otto said she heard about the program – delivered by the Institute of Community Directors Australia and Women for Election – from a friend, and it was recommended by Gannawarra deputy mayor Cr Jane Ogden, who is the sole woman on the council.
Cr Ogden said she wanted to encourage more women to seek a spot at the next council election in October 2024.
“If we can get women in who have got so many beautiful skills across so many areas, and if you’ve got a passion for your community, then we really need that voice in council,” she said.
“The important thing is that women do have usually a broad spectrum of skills … if you think about women that are in community groups, and all the work they do as volunteers, they know how to juggle things.”
Cr Ogden said there was support available for mums who needed childcare to attend meetings and functions, and courses for new councillors to learn more about reading and understanding legislation and budgets.
As one of six new councillors elected in 2020, Cr Ogden said the induction process was thorough.
“And I believe the state government is really looking into making sure that there’s even more support now and after this next election,” she said.
“I didn’t have access to Women Leading Locally, which would have been great to have. I did a lot of research before I went for it, so I vaguely knew what was going to be on the table, but once you’re in there, it’s quite different. There are so many different services that council provides.”
Cr Ogden said the most important aspect of being a councillor was listening to people in the community about their needs.
