“I’m passionate about remote living”

The new Shire of Halls Creek CEO Sue Leonard grew up in outback NSW which undoubtedly shaped her lifelong passion for remote living.

Sue comes from a long line of miners (her father’s side) and tailors (her mother’s side) but chose a different path by becoming a teacher linguist and studying Indonesian and Arabic at university, in addition to a number of Indigenous languages.

At 23-years-old, Sue headed out bush to commence her career with the Nomads Charitable and Education Trust in the East Pilbara; the start of many lifelong friendships with First Nations people. Soon after she met her husband, Col, a policeman, and together they embarked on forging an adventure-filled life together in northern outback Western Australia, including many years in the Pilbara as well as all over the Kimberley and several southern Western Australian towns (Col’s career with the police necessitated frequent moves for the family).

“I’ve always had a passion for living in community with First Nations people and working at a grassroots level to improve remote living and lives; it’s really defined the arc of my life” says Sue.

In the early 1990s Sue and her family moved to Halls Creek for three years, and she worked at the Kimberley Language Resource Centre as well as raising her two sons. The town clearly got under her skin, because she jumped with excitement 20-years-later when the CEO role with Halls Creek Shire was advertised.

“I was living in Perth and having a breather between jobs,” says Sue. “I obviously felt a desire to be back in the north because when this role came up I just felt I could not not apply. I had strong, positive memories of Halls Creek and genuine ambition for the town.”

During her first stint in Halls Creek Sue had the pleasure of working with Kija, Jaru, Walmajarri, Gooniyandi, Worrorra and Bardi speakers to finalise a range of dictionaries and word books. She also launched a series of children’s books for the local kids, which were illustrated by her husband and written in both Indigenous local languages and English. This dual-learning model proved successful and led to a bump in local literacy, as well as helping preserve languages which were threatened with being lost at the time.

Sue’s diverse 35-year career has taken many twists and turns, from grassroots literacy projects to leadership roles in the family violence space to CEO positions in Community Services and most recently, the Warmun community (Turkey Creek). Sue has always been drawn to working on projects with meaning that allow her to live in communities on country. This also allows her to pursue her hobbies which include camping and fishing, making damper out bush, bird-watching, watching local sport and participating in search and rescue activities (in Warmun, she was the leader of the local squad).

“For me, after years in such a variety of roles coming to Halls Creek is really about fulfilling that urge to be back in community because I love that. And with local government I aim to make it the best version of itself – working for the people.”

Sue has a five-year contract in Halls Creek and has been joined by her husband Col.

“I want to see the remotes supported and flourishing so people can actually realise their aspirations of having real wages, nice homes, continue their cultural interactions, know their children are safe and educated and going on to become the doctors and politicians of the future,” says Sue.

“I want to see positive change and growth in Halls Creek, that’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.”

• Sue has worked in the public, private and not for profit sectors, predominantly in the northwest region of Western Australia
• Sue specialises in education, training, economic and community development and holds tertiary and vocational qualifications in education, business administration, project management and strategic leadership
• Sue is an affiliate member of the governance Institute of Australia and is currently working towards completion of the Graduate Certificate in Applied Corporate Governance.