You can dream but you need to be aware that dreams sometimes fall over, so then you need to pick yourself up and get going again.

Gae Swain, Mayor of the Gunnedah Shire Council, is a farming woman passionate about the bush. She and husband Geoff run a mixed sheep, cattle and grains property on the confluence of the Peel and Namoi Rivers, 30 km east of Gunnedah. Gae wants rural communities to have a voice in decisions that affect them and to ensure that young people are given more options to explore sustainable careers locally, rather than be forced to migrate to the cities. Gae has been involved in some very contentious issues affecting residents in her region, such as ground water allocations and ‘conservation versus forestry’ decisions. She has played a key role in leading and engaging with stakeholders and being an advocate for her community through difficult, and often long, resolution processes. She is also a wife, mother, daughter and proud grandmother of 12 grandchildren.

What gave you the motivation/inspiration to follow your dream?

Becoming Mayor was never an aspiration. I had always considered myself to be a farmer’s wife. I’d primarily been involved in farming activities and raising my family. Everything changed back in 1991 after I heard a local woman councillor speaking on the radio. She said that despite women making up 50 per cent of the population, they weren’t taking up the challenge of nominating for local government. Something in the back of my mind said that perhaps I could give it a go, but I didn’t think much more about it for several weeks. It just kept niggling away at me, so I contacted and spoke to a local council senior staff officer and he provided me with lots of information about the council and its activities.

At what point did you realise that your dream was actually possible and what was it that made you think you could really do it?

After talking to the woman councillor, I went home and mentioned it to my husband, thinking that would be the end of it. But he said ‘Go for it’, so I did and I was elected—it wasn’t until the votes had been counted that I realised it actually might happen! I’ve now been a councillor for 14 years.

Prior to being elected onto council, I’d been involved in P&C and CWA but had spent most of my time on the farm. I am not sure why people voted for me. A lot of people said they voted for me after hearing my presentation at the ‘candidate’s night’, as they thought I spoke commonsense. That event was broadcast by our local radio station prior to the election.

In 1999 I was approached by other councillors to put my hand up to be Mayor. They seemed to have more faith in me than I had in myself. I decided to give it a go and I have been the elected Mayor since then. At times I’ve felt inadequate as I have no tertiary qualifications and I’ve had to learn as I go along. However, I always aim to do the best I can, and to think things through clearly and logically, so that the decisions I make are for the best reasons possible. If I fail, I try to learn from that experience and then move on. One thing I have learned though is that you must have the right motivation, remain true to your beliefs and maintain your integrity — in other words, ‘remain true to yourself’.

When you were a child, what did you want to ‘be’ when you grew up?

I wanted to be a nurse, but it wasn’t meant to be. Because we moved around so much, my education was a mixture of correspondence and home schooling, as well as a little conventional schooling. I left after three years of high school. My parents could only afford to send one child to university. As was usual at that time, my brother was supported and he went on to study veterinary science and he became a vet. I went to ‘tech’ and got a job as a secretary at the new Tamworth airport.

How did your childhood influence you in later life?

I grew up in lots of places, as my father was in the army. During the war we lived in camps all over rural NSW and in Queensland. We never really had our own home during that time. After the war, in April 1946, my father was part of the Occupied Forces sent to Japan. The first year he was there we lived with my grandparents in Walcha, as well as with various aunts and uncles.

In April 1947 the family took the three week ocean voyage to join my father, and we were in Japan for six years. All the moving meant I was always the new kid at school. On the other hand it exposed me to a bigger world. We lived not far from Hiroshima and I remember visiting and seeing the devastation. I am sure that our life experiences impact on us, even though we don’t realise it at the time.

Who are your role models?

My mother is my main role model. She has always been self-effacing, very accepting and caring, and has supported me in whatever I’ve done. My father was a very difficult, autocratic, emotionally tough man. Mum had to leave her elderly parents when we went to live in Japan, not knowing whether she would ever see them again. This would have been incredibly hard, as writing letters was the only means of corresponding during that time.

What does success mean to you?

I don’t ever think about being a ‘success’. Currently there is too much emphasis on having heaps of money, a bigger house and a flasher car. It is meaningless to rely on what others think, and it can lead to trying to reach unattainable goals. Success is a very personal thing. If you get up each day and do what has to be done to the best of your ability, then you are being a success.

What has been one of the biggest barriers you have had to face, what happened, and how did you overcome it?

I can’t really think of any real barriers or obstacles I’ve had to face. I’ve always found support and assistance from everyone associated with council. Being a woman hasn’t really been an issue. I did have a small problem with one male councillor who made a sexist comment but I was able to nip that in the bud.

Throughout my life I have worked a lot in male-dominated areas so I guess this has contributed to my skills in tackling male/female issues. Whether you are a woman or a man on my council is irrelevant. The important thing is to research and argue your case clearly by ensuring you get all the facts and present them well.

I actually thought my biggest barrier would be getting Geoff to agree to me taking on the council challenge — he’d been used to me working beside him ever since we were married. I was wrong about that and he has been extremely supportive. I wouldn’t, and couldn’t, have performed my role without him. It hasn’t been easy for us as there have been times when he has really needed me to help him with farming jobs and I haven’t been able to. He absolutely detests cooking but has learned to manage simple meals and how to press the button on the microwave! There is a human cost and a financial cost for which people entering public life need to prepare. There is a lot of time spent away from home and you are expected to be ‘on show’ 24/7. It has been an interesting journey and we have managed it together.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? What is your vision for the future?

I want to be retired by then, but still be contributing to my community in some way, particularly through my church. My faith has helped me through good times and bad, and God has enabled me to be what I am (whatever that is). I want to have time with my kids and grandchildren. I want to spend time with my husband as he has worked so hard without my help. I don’t think I should be there [on council] forever. I want to move on and give other people a turn to bring in new ideas.

My ‘dream’ for rural Australia (as distinct from where I personally want to be in the future) is for our young people to be free to choose where they work, whether in rural areas or in the cities, and for that choice not to be forced onto them because there aren’t enough jobs in the bush. I want a vibrant, vital, enthusiastic and motivated rural Australia providing opportunities as well as challenges for the generations to come, as they will be the next leaders for this great country of ours.

What would you like to say to other women who may be just starting out on a ‘Daring to Dream’ journey?

I was a participant in the Rural Community Leadership Program run by the Benevolent Society and the NSW Premier’s Department a few years ago. I learned a lot from that experience and developed some fantastic friendships. The key things I’d like to share are these:

• If you can have a go, you should have a go, and don’t be frightened to make a mistake.

• You can dream but you need to be aware that dreams sometimes fall over, so then you need to pick yourself up and get going again.

• I always thought that leadership meant being out the front, but there are lots of people who need moral support to do the best they can, so you can also lead from behind.