COUNCILLOR Greg Watson will be honoured with a testimonial dinner on Saturday night to celebrate his 40 years of service to local government.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Cr Watson was first elected to council in September 1974, and has served the community almost continuously ever since.
“I never intended to be a councillor for 40 years, it just happened,” he said.
“I initially attended a couple of meetings by accident. As a young fellow, I always had in the back of my mind, councillors would be wise and learned people.
“After attending a couple of meetings I thought, ‘Gee, I could do this’ and 40 years on, I’m still there.”
As well as four decades as a ward 2 Central Shoalhaven councillor, Cr Watson was also shire president or mayor for 14 years, and was the first mayor after Shoalhaven was declared a city.
Having seen significant changes and growth in the city, he said there had been many highlights.
“One is the pleasure I’ve got from being able to assist thousands of people with their problems,” he said.
In terms of quality of life, he said the 1977, $3.5 million program to reconstruct and seal many village streets that were unsealed at the time, gave communities the greatest boost.
“We initially intended to seal 60km but ended up increasing it by $1.5 million and the program was so efficient it delivered 175km or thereabouts urban streets in 18 months period,” he said.
Other highlights include major upgrades to the then failing water infrastructure and overloaded Nowra sewerage scheme, including gaining access to Sydney catchment water supplies for times of drought; the introduction of the Reclaimed Water Management Scheme (REMS) where treated effluent is used for irrigation by local farmers rather than being pumped into ocean outfalls; the introduction of formalised tourist promotions and the appointment of a tourism manager; the introduction of an industrial promotions office which continues today as the economic development office, which brought a lot of manufacturing industries to the area.
A number of projects also came to fruition under his leadership including the second Shoalhaven River bridge crossing and East Street deviation, construction of the new administration building and the accelerated works and employment program that provided 200km of cycleways and kerb and gutters in the city.
Cr Watson admitted he had made mistakes, making international headlines for burning a replica Aboriginal flag being one of them.
“That was something that would have been better not done,” he said.
“Sure, I’ve made mistakes along the way, I’m the first to admit that but I’m certain the good I’ve been able to do far outweighs the mistakes.”
He is surprised by his own longevity.
“I suppose I’m a bit of an enigma in local government,” he said.
“Usually if you are doer, meaning you get things done, are progressive and carry out lots of works, quite often you don’t last long in politics,” he said.
“I’m impatient, I have always wanted to get on and create jobs. I suppose I have made that a passion of mine.”
As for the city’s future, Cr Watson said he could see the Shoalhaven struggling in terms of retaining manufacturing industries.
“The days of getting new manufacturing industries are almost gone due to competition in Asia,” he said.
“But there are a lot of other opportunities in the development industry and I see that as one of our major employers for years to come.
“People will develop buildings and will need trades like builders, plumbers, painters, landscapers.
“We will also see a growth in the aged care market as well as health, education and tertiary employment.”
Cr Watson said he was not making any decisions about his future at this stage.
“At the appropriate time, my wife and I will have a discussion and make a decision about the future,” he said.
The testimonial dinner will be held at the Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre on Saturday evening.