WA Local Government Association president Troy Pickard has long had a hands-on approach to community involvement.
Troy Pickard says that, as a young boy, he always wanted to be active in the community. As a young man he wasted no time setting his course, moving into local politics in his 20s.
Mr Pickard was a councillor and deputy mayor at the City of Stirling for four years from 2001, before bowing out of the role for a brief stint as president of the Stirling division of the Liberal Party.
Now, at just 37 years old, he is in his second term as mayor of the City of Joondalup.
Mr Pickard had no intention of returning to local government after leaving the City of Stirling and then in 2006 moving with his family to Kingsley, having completed his masters in marketing.
But when the City of Joondalup held a fresh election, his interest was piqued.
“What triggered my interest to stand for mayor was that there were a lot of people who had put their names up again for mayor, and I thought there was an opportunity for the community to have a broader choice by putting my hand up as a young person,” Mr Pickard says.
He recently added a new string to his local government bow, having this month been elected president of the WA Local Government Association.
Mr Pickard admits to having been bitten by the political bug, and while focused on his roles as mayor and WALGA president, he won’t rule out the possibility of a foray into state or federal politics.
“I think it is fair to say when it is in your blood, it is in your blood,” he says of politics.
But for the moment Mr Pickard’s priorities lie elsewhere.
“With a young family and the tyranny of distance with federal parliament I think I would be a single man if I chose to stand for federal parliament,” he says of the importance of being close to his wife and two children.
Instead, Mr Pickard has plans to return to his career as a marketing manager – in his former life he managed marketing in the Asia Pacific for Finnish mining equipment manufacturer, Metso Minerals.
“I am keen to one day get back in to the marketing game and complete an incomplete chapter,” he says.
For now, Mr Pickard is focused on using his new role at WALGA to aid change in local government structures and in the way the community perceives local councils.
“The role of local government is a lot broader than it was 20 years ago; what we need to do is raise the bar in local communities. I think most people don’t comprehend the services local councils deliver,” Mr Pickard says.
“It is beyond road rates and rubbish nowadays and that provides a huge challenge for local government because it imposes a significant cost burden”.
During his two-year term as WALGA’s president he plans to introduce new pathways for generating local government income, and is currently reviewing a report in to local government business entities.
“We need to ensure the financial sustainability of local governments and explore opportunities to reduce the reliance on rates,” Mr Pickard says.
He is passionate about making changes to local government in order to attract a broader scope of community members to local government.
“If we want to broaden the talent pool, elected members need to be remunerated accordingly,” he says, lamenting that councillors are paid an hourly rate of cents, not dollars.
He added that “too often there is pollie-bashing across Australia and that in itself is a disincentive for good people to stand up and get involved in politics because it is a messy game and very personal”.
What would you do if you were premier for a day?
I would ask all public servants to roll their sleeves up and volunteer their time to a not-for-profit group.
If you could invite five people (historical or living) to dinner who would they be?
Robert Menzies, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Demi Moore (I have always had a soft spot for Demi Moore), and Wolfgang Mozart.
If you had to choose an alternative career, what would it be?
To be an air force pilot.
Career highlight?
Recognition; you don’t get it in the private sector very often, and that was receiving the WA Business News 40under40 Award.
Biggest career challenge?
When I was the marketing coordinator at Nordberg and there was a multi-billion dollar acquisition; it was my job to roll-out the new brand and entity in the Asia Pacific. That was a big challenge with the variety of cultures in that region.
Words to live by?
As a high achiever, I often reflect on ‘shooting for the stars’.
