Ali Wastie has officially begun her tenure this week Geelong’s new chief executive.
The City of Greater Geelong has spent the last 12 months without a permanent figure in the role and had its search for a chief executive delayed by an investigation by state monitors into its recruitment process.
Ms Wastie has taken over from Kaarina Phyland, who has acted as caretaker in the role since last September.
Geelong council has recently confronted a rash of ongoing hot button issues, including budget issues, contentious high rise developments, bike lanes, adequate library funding and the abortive Commonwealth Games, to name a few.
Ms Wastie has over a decade of experience working within local government, spending the last four and a half years as the Bass Coast Shire chief executive.
She said she was looking forward to engaging with a community that was passionate about the way their city was managed.
“Geelong is full of opportunity and promise, and I really love the fact that the community has already set a very strong and compelling vision to be a clever and creative city,” Ms Wastie said.
“I really love it when the community is interested… in what the council is doing, because they care.
“Building trust with communities is incredibly important for me, so I’ll be getting out and about as much as I can, and also building that within our own organisation.
“Local governments are here to support the ongoing health and well-being of our people and our communities. Not everyone is faring that well in Victoria, and indeed Geelong, so I’ll have a focus on some of our people who are doing it a bit tough.”
Ms Wastie said infrastructure was a priority for an area like Geelong that was experiencing high growth levels.
“With growth comes opportunity and investment, but we’ve seen in other parts of Victoria where people have come but the infrastructure isn’t there,” she said.
“You want the infrastructure first, so communities can come in and have access to all those services and open spaces, things that everyone deserves and needs for good health and well-being.”
