Liverpool will today wake up to a new council chief executive officer.
Kiersten Fishburn has accepted an offer for the job and an official announcement will be made today.
Last night Mayor Wendy Waller was attending a function where she revealed Ms Fishburn had accepted the role left vacant by the controversial Carl Wulff earlier this year.
Ms Fishburn, who has been at Liverpool Council for five years, was appointed acting CEO in October, replacing Michael Cullen.
She has been community and culture director since 2011, as well as the director of the Casula Powerhouse arts centre.
Which also means there are now two women in charge at the two biggest south west Sydney councils, Liverpool and Campbelltown, where Lindy Deitz reigns supreme.
♦ MP Greg Warren says there was a tremendous response from many generous local individuals and organisations to his Christmas toy drive.
“The response has been nothing short of amazing and humbling,’’ he said yesterday.
“Everyone’s generosity means that hundreds of kids will receive a gift this Christmas that otherwise would not have.
“Many thanks to all, especially Anytime Fitness, Macarthur Square, Wests League Club and many others.’’
♦ John Anderson, the chairman of RAID (Residents Against Intermodal Development), calls us on a regular basis and we can tell you that while he shows a lot of frustration at times, he’s also developed his sense of humour over the 10 years or so.
“Well, it’s easy to be frustrated when it seems nobody’s listening to you,’’ he said during our last phone conversation for 2016.
“But I think we have been successful in 2016, we are still here fighting,’’ he said, before adding:
“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.’’
♦ There was a time about 20 years ago when two men and a dog in Macarthur supported an airport at Badgerys Creek, Mark Latham and Eric Kontos.
My, how things have changed.
On Wednesday night at the Ingleburn chamber dinner Russell Matheson admitted he was one who fought against it for many years but then went to Canberra and joined a government that supported it.
So off he goes to see the Prime Minister of the time, Tony Abbott, and says: Boss, this is going to be hard for me after all the years opposing it.
And the PM says: What paper do they read in Campbelltown and Macarthur?
“I said the Daily Telegraph, boss.’’
Well, said the boss, the Daily Telegraph want an airport in western Sydney and they will get an airport in western Sydney.
♦ And still on the airport, at Tuesday night’s council meeting in Campbelltown, Greens councillor Ben Moroney cheekily suggested the curfew at Kingsford Smith should be lifted over Point Piper…
Which of course is where the Prime Minister lives when he’s not slumming it in that little homestead called The Lodge in Canberra.
♦ And where else but comfortable and relaxed Australia would a reporter cover a council meeting wearing shorts and someone wearing a sleeveless tshirt address the same meeting.
May we never change some things in this country. Mind you, we’re not sure if a councillor we talked to the next day was serious or not when he suggested council may have to introduce a dress code for meetings.
