When Huon Valley Council Mayor Enders was asked a public question at the 27 January 2021 Ordinary Meeting of Council about her intentions to stand for the seat in Franklin in the upcoming and much expected early state election, the Mayor refused to accept the question on the grounds it ‘did not relate to the affairs of the Council.’

When challenged, the Acting General Manager Matthew Grimsey replied, “The Mayor has affirmed her position to refuse the question for tonight’s meeting.”

On Monday 15 March, the HVC General Manager announced his sudden resignation.

On the following Tuesday 23 March, Enders rallied the councillors to a closed meeting of Council to discuss the situation of their General Manager. Soon after Enders was admitted to hospital suffering from a stress related heart murmur.

In a media release issued by the Huon Valley Council 29 March, Acting Mayor Sally Doyle thanks Reale for his commitment and significant contributions to the Council and community over the past four years. “On behalf of my fellow Councillors and Council staff, I wish Emilio every success in his new role,” wrote Cr Doyle.

Reale’s last day at Council will be decided at the next Council Meeting on 31 March, in closed Council, during which the recruitment process for Council’s new General Manager will also be discussed.

This media release was 15 days after the GM’s resignation, and it was not signed and released by Enders who is this week in Melbourne. Tasmanian Times has been advised she will not be attending the 31 March Council meeting and that she is on six weeks paid leave of absence from her Mayoral duties to allow her to campaign for her new position.

Confirmation that Enders is standing as a Liberal candidate for a seat in the Franklin electorate was in the Sunday evening news of 28 March. There is as yet no official media release emanating from Mayor Enders as to her decision and whatever this may mean for her local government electorate being only half way through her full four year term. This is first time residents and ratepayers heard of this planned move away from being their Mayor.

Enders has since removed her ‘Bec Enders Mayor’ Facebook account.

In the lead up to the 2018 elections, the Huon Valley Residents and Ratepayers Association (HVRRA) orchestrated a series of five ‘meet the candidates’ town hall meetings.

At the HVRRA Dover meeting 11 October 2018 Enders presented:

I’m an independent candidate who is impartial. I’m not affiliated with any other candidate, nor political party.

A Mayor candidate needs to be able to demonstrate this level of independence to their community. I’m running for Councillor and Mayor because I believe in the well-being of this community, and I believe in the future of the Huon Valley.

Huon Valley Council Mayor Bec Enders.

We have a golden opportunity to steer the Huon Valley Council into a future that is new and exciting.

But it will take leadership on the part of the new mayor.

And this is because we’ll be dealing with issues and opportunities that haven’t yet been dealt with by the Council previously.

The success of an organisation directly relates to the effectiveness, the attitude, and the ethical behaviour of its leader. Leadership is about good communication. It’s about being inclusive, innovative, you need to listen, it’s about mentoring, ability to guide others, yet remain flexible, to be fair and equitable, to set goals, remove obstacles, and to continually improve and learn.

I know that with the title of Mayor comes great responsibility. I have always seen leadership as a privilege, because everything you say and everything you do, has an impact. I want you to know that I will take great care of the community, the people that work for us in Council, and the people that you elect on to Council.

My experience of eight years in local government, qualifications in planning and management, and leadership positions, plus two years working in the office of the Lord Mayor, has prepared me for the role of Mayor. I’m fortunate to have been mentored by a group of really successful leaders who worked in a variety of industries, for example, community organizations, nursing, local government and planning. I’ve taken the best qualities of each and every one of those mentors throughout my career. And you will find me because of this; approachable, hardworking and genuine.

What you see is what you get.

After listening to our community over the last few months and reading the board of inquiry report and also with my own local government experiences, I see the key priorities for this council to lead for our community to get involved in matters that will impact them. And that means opening portfolio meetings, perhaps the audit panel meeting, going to town with public forums with some of those meetings, and also workshops. It’s to lead an all of government and social services approach, so we can improve the health and the well being and the safety of those in our community that are at risk.

We need mental health services, we need allied health services and we need youth services here, and it’s high on the list. I believe we need to lead planning and development for a 30 year overarching Huon Valley plan.

So as we grow, so does our services and so does our infrastructure, we need to plan for climate change, for traffic management [and] for new industries. We need to protect our vital food production land, our iconic vistas, we need to protect Aboriginal culture and our colonial heritage and so much more.

We need to lead a collaborative approach, working with all the southern councils so we can share information, reduce our operational expenses, and identify the different ways we can work together for the betterment of all of our respective communities. We need to lead a change in direction, to make major purchases, tenders and contracts to centralise our purchasing.

Your number one vote for me as Councillor and Mayor will ensure that our Council is progressive and guided by strong and effective leadership.

Thank you very much for your time.