New Shire of Augusta-Margaret River chief Andrea Selvey says local government poised well to face challenges

New Shire of Augusta-Margaret River chief executive Andrea Selvey says the local government is well-positioned to manage the challenges of population growth and boasts an innovative workforce with a firm sense of community ownership.

Ms Selvey secured the top job from scores of rival candidates after the surprise resignation of previous chief Stephanie Addison-Brown in December, just a few months after she secured a five-year contract extension.

Coming to the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River from Carnarvon where her team won awards for workplace wellbeing, Ms Selvey said she too had to grapple with the housing crisis before finding a place of her own.

Now settled and well across the shire’s books, she forecast no major shake-ups or staff restructures.

The three-director model — brought back in after corporate and community director James Shepherd was made redundant just before Ms Addison-Brown’s departure — would stay in place because Ms Selvey preferred to focus on an agile workforce.

“I’m not a fan of saying ‘this is a structure’, then you set the structure, then you restructure, and you set that structure,” she said.

“A skill that is important in local government and is applied here is . . . having people who are able to, if there is any spare capacity, provide support in other areas.”

The new chief said a growing population necessitated growth in shire employees to meet existing and emerging needs.

Services such as recreation centres were booming, while peak season continued to pile pressure on rangers.

However, the local government was working through reviews of a suite of strategic plans including developing a clearer picture of workforce requirements.

Ms Selvey said the Shire would look to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the role it could play in efficiency.

“Especially in regional communities, the environment is changing,” she said.

“It’s constant change, the external environment — new opportunities, new risks, and new skill sets needed.

“I think it’s being responsive to those things and having my open mind to how we address those opportunities and risks on an ongoing basis.”

The shire was also unlikely to take on any new major civic projects in the immediate future, now the audit was under way on the final cost of reroofing and upgrading the Margaret River Recreation Centre.

Instead, the focus would be on improving communication with residents and streamlining work priorities through an overhaul of the shire’s enterprise system which also aimed to make it easier for operators to do business with the local government.

Ms Selvey said she felt privileged to take up the reins.

“It’s very sophisticated and it’s recognised in the sector as a high-performing organisation and doing some really innovative work,” she said.

“The people who work here are passionate about basically the community they live in, the environment they enjoy.

“When I did get the job, I know my colleagues were saying ‘you’ve basically landed one of the best roles in the State’.”