West Tamar Council Mayor, Christina Holmdahl and former West Tamar General Manager, Rolph Vos, have been awarded Life Membership of the Local Government Association of Tasmania (LGAT).
LGAT President, Break O’Day Council Mayor Mick Tucker said, “The LGAT Life Member awards recognises excellence in service and contribution to the local government sector within and beyond Tasmania”.
“Life members are leaders and champions of Tasmanian local government and exemplify the best qualities of the sector.
“Both of these recipients have demonstrated exceptional commitment and service to our
sector and I am honoured to present them both Life Memberships,” he said.
Mayor Christina Holmdahl has served on the West Tamar Council for 14 years and has been Mayor since 2014.
She served eight years on the LGAT General Management Committee, including two terms
as LGAT President of LGAT. During her time as LGAT President she also served as Vice President of the Australian Local Government Association.
During her time as President, she worked with two Premiers and five different local
government Ministers on challenging issues such as the review of the Local Government
Act, the COVID-19 pandemic, and most recently the Future of Local Government Review.
Throughout this time she displayed her leadership and fierce advocacy for the local
government sector, LGAT said in a statement.
In her own municipality, she works within a range of community organisations across the
arts, emergency services and is a member of the Tamar Estuary Management Taskforce.
Fellow award recipient, Rolph Vos had over 27 years of service at West Tamar Council.
He joined the council in 1996 as a cadet building surveyor and then worked his way up through the organisation to become General Manager in 2016.
LGAT says his work at West Tamar is characterised by the strong partnerships he helped form with the community and with other tiers of government.
The Association also congratulated the two recipients of the Outstanding Commitment and Service to Local Government Award – Break O’Day Council General Manager, John Brown and Jon Doole, formerly of Kingborough Council.
Mr Brown has served in local government for 22 years, with 14 of those as General
Manager of Break O’Day Council. He is an active contributor and leader within regional groups, such as the Northern General Managers Group and is contributing to the entire sector through the Elected Members Learning and Development Governance Group.
“He has helped to bring to fruition important community and infrastructure projects such as
the Triple J One Night Stand and the St Helens mountain bike trails. John is a recognised
leader within his community through employment initiatives and local boards,
demonstrating the important role that local government plays in our towns and cities,” LGAT said.
Awarded posthumously, Jon Doole’s more than 30 years at Kingborough Council saw him
have a tremendous impact on Tasmanian local government and on climate change action in
particular.
“He helped drive regional climate collaboration with other Tasmanian councils and
interstate. He helped his council, one of the first councils in the country, to develop a
Climate Change and Energy Plan and championed its transition to cleaner vehicles and
supporting its communities vulnerable to climate change.”
The Association says his approach resulted in Kingborough being recognised as a leader in responding to climate risks and reducing carbon emissions.
“Jon was passionate, practical and approached everything with good humour. It is an
honour to be able to recognise the outstanding commitment he displayed to his community
and the sector as a whole,” Mayor Tucker said.
Gary Arnold, General Manager of Kingborough Council, accepted the award on behalf of
Jon’s family.
LGAT also congratulated the following elected representatives who were presented with their Recognition of Service Award for Elected Members:
- Mayor Leigh Gray, Brighton Council – 17 years (2005–current)
- Deputy Mayor Barbara Curran, Brighton Council – 27 years (1996–current)
- Councillor Philip Owen, 34 years (1989– current)
- Councillor Peter Geard, 35 years (1984–1993; 1997– current).
