Letter to the Editor: Thanks for your leadership Lauren

DEAR News Of The Area,

THE October 2025 Council meeting officially concluded the first 12 months of the current term of office for Port Macquarie-Hastings Councillors.

At the meeting a new Deputy Mayor was selected to take over from Lauren Edwards, who had completed her 12-month appointment to the role.

I would like to pause for a moment to reflect on the achievements of the outgoing Deputy Mayor, who was first elected to Council in December 2021.

Lauren has well and truly proven to be an extremely diligent and hardworking Councillor.

Over the course of her 12-month tenure as Deputy Mayor she has shown insightful leadership and introduced numerous and varied items to the Council agenda.

These have ranged from seeking meetings with Federal and State Ministers, to the drafting of a budget development policy protection and calling for actions to greater protect and enhance local koala habitat and corridors.

In the last 12 months Lauren has also proposed many amendments to many staff recommendations with the aim of improving reporting, accountability and equitable access including ensuring the reinstatement of the concessional admission fees for the Port Macquarie, Kendall, Laurieton and Wauchope public swimming pools.

As a Greens Councillor, expectations might have been that she would focus only on issues affecting the environment but, along with great attention to matters of environmental concern, Lauren has also taken a keen interest in advocating for the homeless, affordable housing, better transport outcomes, fiscal responsibility and transparent decision making.

Learning from the community about their concerns has been important to Lauren, and she has responded to community on issues such as a request that Council received for the drafting of a Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Policy, and community dissatisfaction with the NSW State Government’s lack of local community consultation over its plan to build a preschool within the Tacking Point Public School grounds.

One only needs to look at the minutes of Council meetings to see how much Lauren has contributed effectively to leading and participating in the deliberations and actions of Council during her time as Deputy Mayor.

I have no doubt that she will continue to be one of our community’s strongest and hardest working advocates throughout the remaining three years of this term.

Regards,
Les MITCHELL,
Port Macquarie.