Published on Tuesday, 13 August 2024 at 1:11:40 PM

Hello everyone. My name is Craig Watts, and I’m excited and privileged to be taking on the role of your CEO at the Shire of Merredin. I have close to 30 years experience in Local Government, in both outer metropolitan and regional settings starting off as an Environmental Health Officer, with my last role being Director of Regulatory Services at the Town of Port Hedland. Given this background, I believe that Local Government should be there to support its local community, deliver good customer services and provide facilities that can be accessed by everyone. My first impressions are that this is a beautiful town that is clean, green, feels safe and has an engaged community. It’s a far cry from the dust, heat and Spinifex of the Pilbara that has been home for the past 15 years.

I have spent my first weeks in Merredin meeting with a number of stakeholders, community groups, and Councillors to learn the culture of the Shire, understand what people like about the area, and hear their aspirations for the Town. Everyone is impressed with the Town Centre works and revitalisation of Apex Park, which are coming along well both in terms of on time and on budget. I see these as gamechangers for the Shire, both as a fantastic place for young and young at heart locals to explore and meet, but as an attractant for travellers on the highway to stop, and recharge, and utilise the services of our local businesses and supporting economic development. Speaking of businesses, I would like to thank the local business owners in the Town Centre for their patience and support while we effect these changes, including the 8-week road closure along Barrack Street. Many of them see the longer-term vision for the area and understand that we needed this short-term disruption to build something better.

In my spare time, I volunteer with Fire and Rescue Services having developed skills, capabilities, and experiences over 25 years of service. I have already joined with Phil and the crew at Merredin VFRS and look forward to serving the community in that capacity moving forward. Volunteering within a local community is a great way of giving back, and I recommend anyone join an emergency service, community organisation, or sporting group as a means to meet new people and gain new skills. I’m a person who believes that you only get out, what you put into something and it’s a great way to relieve stress and maintain your mental health.

Moving on from the works around Apex Park and the Town Centre, I will be working with our Engineering team to upgrade our local road network to improve interconnectivity and safety within the network. In addition, we will be progressing the works to the Water Tower to improve its longevity and retain this as an icon within our community. All of this cannot be completed without good fiscal and governance policies, together with the support of Council to provide funding and resources to these and other projects within the Shire. I see this as a shared responsibility between the Shire Administration and our Elected Members to continue to progress Merredin as a central hub within the broader Wheatbelt area.

I look forward to working with the Shire President, Councillors, and Shire staff to continue to provide well-maintained and well-used parks, facilities, and infrastructure, maintaining financial stability, providing good governance, and most importantly, delivering quality customer service to you our community.

Craig Watts,
Chief Executive Officer

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