When I was first elected as one of your Councillors only two months ago, there were many who offered congratulations.

It’s a privilege to represent the community, and brave to run for office.

There were also many people who offered commiserations at having succeeded.

Now, the real work begins, and challenges start to unfold.

There are the things that the people of Boorowa, where I live, have elected me to champion, with the Boorowa-Harden water pipeline being chief among them.

As a concept, it is something that’s been proposed since at least the late 1930s.

I am not the first Councillor, nor will I likely be the last, to raise this issue.

But I do hope that during the next 4 years, we can get shovels in the ground - even if it is us Councillors digging the trenches (imagine that!).

Then there are up-and-coming issues, such as the Boorowa-Galong Rail Trail, waste and tip charges, reforming the development process, and engaging our youth, that I want to bring attention to.

Being a champion not just for Boorowa and our small villages, but the whole of Hilltops, is a key principle of my time as your Councillor.

For myself, there is also an extra layer of pride and burden.

I am the first Wiradyuri person to be elected to Hilltops Council, quite possibility the first Indigenous person to represent Boorowa, Harden, or Young, even under the previous Councils.

To be the first Indigenous person means charting a course no one else has before me.

Acknowledging and being proud of who I am as a Wiradyuri man, and celebrating the continued culture of the Wiradyuri and Ngunnawal peoples, whose lands make up Hilltops, is something close to my heart, and something I will bring to the forefront of Council.

It makes Hilltops a more inclusive, open, and welcoming place if we can not only acknowledge and celebrate those who have come here, but also those who were here before.

I have been pleasantly surprised so far as to the level of cooperation and camaraderie developing between the current Councillors. Our Mayor and Deputy Mayor are experienced, knowledgeable, and engaged.

The other Councillors bring a wide range of expertise and lived experience.

We are doing well to work together, plan together, and govern together - and doing so with respect.

I hope we can keep it that way. It’s in your interests that we do.

Councillor James Blackwell