Member for Tweed Geoff Provest is calling on the local community to celebrate the contributions of inspirational women by making a nomination for the 2020 Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government.

Mr Provest said the annual awards recognise the valuable contributions female councillors and council staff make to improve the lives of local residents.

“Local residents now have the opportunity to nominate a female staff member or councillor at Tweed Shire Council to go up against high achieving women from councils across the State for one of these prestigious awards,” he said.

“These awards are a chance for our community to publicly acknowledge these women and all the hard work they do to improve our lives.”

The NSW Government has announced new award categories to better reflect changes in the local government sector.

The new award categories now open for nominations are:

• Employment Diversity Award – a successful council program
to increase female participation in senior leadership roles or at the elected
representative level
• Elected Representative Award – a councillor who has advanced the position of female elected representatives
• Champion of Change Award – a general manager or senior manager
who has excelled in supporting and encouraging women’s participation at their council
• Alternative Pathways Award – a female staff member who is the first to enter a role traditionally held by men or is breaking down gender
stereotypes
• Young Achiever’s Award – an outstanding trainee/apprentice (aged under 25).

Nominations will close on 12 February 2020. The awards will be presented at an official function at Parliament House in Sydney on March 24.

Full details of the categories and information on how to make a nomination can be found at www.olg.nsw.gov.au.