[New] Peta will remain Mayor if Elected to State Government

One thing she has learned is that trust is hard to gain in her position as well as the confidence of the community. So she’s not standing down as Mayor, she will do both jobs, and we at Brilliant-Online believe she will do this brilliantly!

She knows how to delegate, hot to share the workload. She has Mayoral staff, a Deputy Mayor and the other seven Councillors.

“Adam Roberts, the Deputy Mayor, is a great support for me, as Councillor's Slade and Maltman. I consulted with my team beforehand and received their full support along with Council's CEO, Dr. Clare Allen. I've got a wonderful EA in Linda Kosis, I've joined an exceptional team in the National Party, who know I'm going to represent the State and the region of Port Macquarie, the best way I can as the candidate.”

What does Australia Day mean to you?

“It's a really special time for me as Mayor. We are the only people who are able to take people from their homeland country and welcome them as new Australian citizens. That's very powerful. It is very emotional. I'm getting goosebumps talking about it. Every time I do an Australian citizenship ceremony, it's different. This Australia Day, there are 32 people who will stand before me and together we will walk through the ceremony and at the end of it and they will become proud Australians. What a great part of the job. Australia Day for me is about that first and foremost.”

Australia is a melting pot of multiculturalism. And for that we're better, we're stronger. I think we're more accepting. I've seen the changes in the last 30 years in Port Macquarie. Changes in culture and diversity.

Once upon a time, the only people that were in the Port Macquarie region were white Anglo Saxons, and they were mostly retirees. You look at Port Macquarie Hastings region today and you see such diversity from every corner of the globe. We are seeing such a change in our demographic of age, we're not a retirement village anymore. And for those who do retire here, they are the most active seniors I've ever met. We have schools that are bursting at the seams. We have young families moving here, we have professionals that have so much to offer, the value of our region is so much greater for the diversity that we have.”