Cr Scott Jeffery new mayor of Strathbogie

Cr Scott Jeffery has been elected mayor of Strathbogie Shire for the next year. 

At a statutory council meeting on Tuesday morning, Cr Jeffery was elected unopposed. 

Cr Claire Ewart-Kennedy was elected Deputy Mayor. 

Cr Jeffery thanked the council group for the confidence it had shown in him and said he was committed to transparency and accountability. 

“It is a privilege to be the newly elected Mayor,” he said. “Public trust is earned through honesty, clear communications and responsible stewardship of our resources. In collaboration with our CEO, I will strengthen confidence in our organisation by ensuring that every policy, every project and every dollar serves the long-term interests of our residents.” 

Cr Jeffery’s family has called the Strathbogie Ranges home for more than 150 years and six generations, and he said the council must look forward to ensure future generations could continue to build fulfilling lives in the region.  

“My great-great-grandparents helped to lay the foundations of this district, my grandparents also worked the land, served on local committees and installed in our family a lasting respect for the community. I’m here so that our children and grandchildren will have every opportunity to start a business or find work, to raise families and contribute to a community that continues to value connection, cooperation and care.”  

An engineer, Cr Jeffery spent 17 years working with BHP and South32, gaining diverse international experience in strategic analysis, planning and operations, stakeholder engagement, risk management and business optimisation. Today he is Chief Financial Officer of a management consulting business with his wife, Laura, and works on the family farm, while also volunteering with CFA and serving on the Avenel Primary School Council.  

Cr Jeffery said good leadership demanded action, with Strathbogie facing challenges including financial sustainability, maintaining ageing infrastructure, supporting local businesses, protecting the environment and ensuring the community remained a safe and vibrant place to live.  

“We need to invest wisely in our region’s future. It means a big effort in economic development and advocacy, through supporting local jobs and industry and improving access to essentials such as power, telecommunications and internet – at a price where families can afford to build a life. It means embracing progress without losing what makes us unique.” 

Listening was the foundation of good leadership, he said, and he pledged to bring a leadership style grounded in four key principles: listening, transparency, accountability and action.    

“Each voice in Strathbogie matters. The people of Strathbogie know their community best and I will ensure our communities have the opportunity to be heard by conducting a Municipal Performance Report with open questions at each of our townships twice a year.  

“I sought this office out of a deep sense of responsibility – to uphold the values that have sustained us for generations and to help shape a future worthy of those who will follow. 

“Now as Mayor, with the support of my parents, wife and children, I am proud to have the opportunity to continue my family’s legacy, and I am committed to serving the region that has given us so much.  

“Together we can honour our past, strengthen our present and build a future that ensures Strathbogie Shire continues to be a place of pride, opportunity and belonging for generations to come.”