Mayor Clare Stewart addressed Noosa Surf Life Savers supporters breakfast last Friday, on International Women’s Day, and spoke about five lessons she had learnt since becoming mayor.
“Dare to fail – when I was thinking about running I hadn’t been in politics, hadn’t been a councillor. People said to me you’ve got three small children, what are you doing? There’s never a right time, there’s always going to be something holding you back. This is what I want to do, I thought. I want to make a difference for my community,” she said.
Then, as it is now for current council candidates, it was a challenging campaign.
“No one knew my name. I was the first conservative mayor in 30 years, first female mayor, second on the ballot paper, it wasn’t easy,” she said.
“At the end I had gotten closer to the community, at end I was a better person for it. I had dared to fail. I knew what mattered to the community. It was very much the journey not the destination.
“There’s no substitute for hard work – I was not going to give up. I was going to throw everything at it. It was a hard campaign. Being mayor, you’re elected to work for the community, whatever the situation. You turn up because you care – that’s what all of you do,” she said. She recalled a time when visiting a school alongside Ironwoman Jordan Mercer, Jordie told the students, “sometimes I had to sacrifice what I wanted to do to get where I wanted to go”.
“Trust your gut – early on I was at Scone Time and was asked to sit next to woman turning 90, Joyce. I stayed next to Joyce. Later I was having coffee with former mayor Bob Abbot. He told me they noticed you didn’t get around, thank the volunteers in kitchen. My gut had told me to do it, but my head told me to stay. Now I listen more to my gut.
“The juggle is real – I always feel I’m failing at something. Women, we’re hard on ourselves, whether you’re working full time or a full time mum, the juggle is real
Women everywhere, we have to be kinder on ourselves, we all just do the best we can.
“Collaboration is key – that’s what the surf club does so well.
When I came in as mayor, we joined the council of mayors. It allowed us $3.8m in liveability funds. We’re reducing landfill in collaboration with Gympie council. Now we’re working with all SEQ councils, it can only be a plus. Collaboration is key to success.”
MC for the event Peter French told the audience SLCQ recognises the achievements of women and girls.
“Everyone has a role to play in a community that respects women. To do this we enrich our communities and create communities where everyone is valued,” he said. “We’ve had women participating in this club since 1980 and we wholly support women and girls in our club.”
