By Tanya Steele
Yarra Ranges Councillor Johanna Skelton has announced over social media on Tuesday 13 August that she will not be running for local government elections this year.
“I don’t regret any part of my time. I have learnt a lot, including about my strengths and weaknesses. I am satisfied that I’ve done my best to serve our region,” she said.
The Lyster ward representative said she hopes she has inspired new people to consider becoming a councillor now or in the future but needs to increase her paid employment after many years with children at home, and then on council.
“Although many Councillors balance the role with other full-time employment, it is not something I am keen to do,” she said.
As her term finishes Cr Skelton said she wants to support other women, gender diverse, and young people into engaging in politics.
“We still have class and cultural barriers leaving many unrepresented people and many un-championed ideas. That’s my current plan for being involved in the future,” she said.
Ms Skelton said of her time as a councillor that she has always tried to bring the perspective of young people to the conversations.
“These are the people who are inheriting a much more challenging world than I did,” she said.
Ms Skelton said she always tried to think about how our choices would impact those with the least capacity to engage with council or be heard.
“I spoke up for the housing strategy to advocate tackling the federal tax incentives that favour existing homeowners and for energy use that makes the climate safer, and for infrastructure and policies that ensure we have the best chance of living safely with flash flooding, heat waves, fire, and increased social disruption,” she said.
Working alongside the Yarra Ranges councillor group, CEO and officers Ms Skelton said that her colleagues were always respectful and supportive of her sharing her thoughts and asking questions.
“Of course, we have a diversity of opinions but I believe we modelled healthy conversations,” she said.
Ms Skelton credits almost all the changes made on her watch as a team effort but said that some council decisions will have a big impact.
“The waste policy changes have been huge, with as many different perspectives as there are households and businesses,” she said.
“Also supporting local economic systems to keep as much money in the local area as possible and the nature plan with more staff to look after bushland areas, more budget to provide plants and advice to ribbons of green program, and more aspirational goals for business.”
Ms Skelton began her journey as a councillor after being tapped on the shoulder by an outgoing councillor in 2017.
“They suggested I should consider running,” she said.
“After trying for three years to get someone else to do it, I realised it might as well be me.”
Cr Skelton said at the time she was prompted to run, but didn’t expect to be elected.
“I felt that our area didn’t have the right gender and age balance on council,” she said.
“In 2020 my understanding was that there was no one under 35, only one woman, and one person with young kids in the household. This is out of nine representatives.”
Highlights for Ms Skelton have included meeting people and doing amazing things in her community.
“I have been able to attend incredible events and hear from many brilliant minds, including in a difficult time after the June 2021 storm,” she said.
“I have realised that, even with very different perspectives, most decisions can be made respectfully and with good outcomes.”
Ms Skelton said that she has enjoyed being part of adopting great policies that will respond to many of the issues and ideas people in Yarra Ranges have.
“Also little highlights like the Wonga Vine being imprinted in the Tecoma footpath, to connect its colonial naming history with an important plant for First Nations people,” she said.
It hasn’t always been easy to serve the community and Ms Skelton said that having to trim back the council’s expenditure every year to maintain a healthy budget, despite ever-increasing needs like ageing infrastructure, increased weather impacts, greater social support needs, the ageing demographic and so on has been rough.
“Local governments currently work with 3.5 per cent of all tax collected and are responsible for about ten per cent of the infrastructure,” she said.
“I hope the Federal government will restore untied funding to one per cent of their budget. It dropped over the last 30 years to 0.55 per cent.”
Other things like the council’s transition from being an aged care provider, after the loss of Federal funding and realising how local government is very beholden to other levels of government, have also been low points for Ms Skelton.
“There are no perfect decisions but there’s always a role for doing your best in any situation,” she said.
“It is difficult to improve road standards, make housing secure and slow the tide of plastics at a local level.”
Ms Skelton is enthusiastic about getting locals to run for council and said there is no prerequisite life experience for being a councillor.
“We need all types of thinking to represent the area well,” she said.
“If you are curious about other people’s experiences and want to serve other people and the planet, then you are ready.”
Diversity is key and Ms Skelton said that young, LGBTQIA+, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women and people who don’t own their own homes are very underrepresented in councils across Victoria.
“Don’t rule yourself out before knowing the facts about the role,” she said.
“Even if you are unsuccessful in being elected, you are still successful in generating discussion about the ideas and issues you raise in your campaign.”
Nominations for local councils across Victoria open on 9 September.
“If you have any questions please reach out to myself or council staff to ask them,” said Ms Skelton.
