Kim McAliney has made her mark in the 15 years she has lived in Wyndham. She speaks to Adem Saban about her wide-ranging involvement in the community.
How long have you lived in Wyndham?
I’ve been here since 2000. I came from Sunshine to put my sons, Scott and James, in a local school and to be closer to my parents.
You’ve been quite involved in the community over the years. Run me through some of the things you’ve done.
I was travelling from Sunshine to bring the kids here daily. And the state of some of the roads – Palmers, Dohertys and Boundary roads – it’s the old story. I had four windscreen breakages on brand new cars. When I moved up here, I decided to join the transport advisory committee. When I arrived, I panicked – thinking I don’t know what advocacy or any of that stuff is. I then joined the Rural Roads Revolt Committee and ended up being the spokesperson for a media campaign that saw a few million dollars of road improvements, which led me to being asked to stand for council. I’m very passionate about things in Wyndham, but I lost the first election. That didn’t put me off. I tried again and got in with good primary votes in 2005. I was then mayor in 2007-08 and 2011-12.
So you went from being a concerned new resident to mayor in eight years?
If somebody had told me in 2000 when I moved here that I’d end up being mayor a few years later, I wouldn’t have believed them. I think I was Wyndham’s third female mayor. You don’t really reflect on that until afterwards …around 150 mayors and only three of them being female. This was around the time that Julia Gillard (then Lalor MP) was elected as deputy prime minister. We had a female police inspector, a woman running the Werribee Zoo and the person running the Mercy Hospital was a female – I used to joke and say women are running Wyndham. Girl power!
You lost your seat in the last council election. Will you be running again?
Never say never, but at this stage, unlikely. I’m busy with other projects. That said, I hope that the Victorian Electoral Commission run the elections with integrity. It’s very important.
What other projects are you involved in these days?
I’m on City West Water as a director, recently appointed. I’m on the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust. I also chair the Salvation Army State Social Command Advisory Board. I’ve also recently taken on On The Line as acting CFO – a western-based national crisis counselling service. I’m quite excited about that. As a councillor and mayor, I was always passionate about mental health. I also volunteer as an honourary justice for the Department of Justice.
Do you ever have any spare time?
Probably not. I spend a lot of the time outside of hours as an honourary justice. I also love to potter around outside in the garden, read novels and watch movies. I also love going down to my cabin in Jan Juc.
