By AIDAN KNIGHT
THE 2025/26 Mayoral term is the third in the career of Sharon Gibson.
The recently elected Madam Mayor, many will know as a longstanding Newbrough Ward councillor, recently swapped roles with her now-deputy, Cr Dale Harriman (Loy Yang Ward).
Cr Gibson previously served as mayor in 2013/14, preceding Cr Harriman’s first term, and then again in 2020/21, taking over from former long-time councillor Graeme Middlemiss.
The Express spoke one-on-one with Mayor Gibson last week, after she’d had a fortnight to adjust to the role, one she knows well.
“I didn’t expect to be mayor again, no, because you can never really expect anything until it happens (in elections)”, she said.
“I said it in my speech as outgoing deputy, a lot more comes onto my plate as mayor, admittedly, but over the last 12 months we really have worked as a leadership team,” remarking on the effectiveness of a close-knit and collaborative squad at the head of the table.
“When you’re really working as a team, you can achieve, hopefully, a lot more, because one person doesn’t have all the answers.”
This collaborative strategy, the mayor notes, has already proven effective during recent delegations to Canberra, enabling council to address key community issues with a united front.
Looking ahead, she intends to build on this teamwork-driven ethos to guide council actions and better serve the community.
Mayor Gibson has seen both side of this dynamic, serving as Deputy Mayor for five terms in Latrobe City Council. This renewed focus on sharing the load echoes comments she’s made previously, often imploring councillors to continue to strengthen their ability to work together.
Many of Latrobe City Council’s current line-up have also run for state elections in various parties, and the Express inquired as to whether Cr Gibson would consider putting herself forward a second time next year, after running as an independent in 2022.
“Not while I’m mayor,” she confirmed, saying she would prefer to do her role “properly”.
“I would hope it’s different to the last two (terms), because each time we had emergencies, the mine fire and the floods and storm damage.”
Cr Gibson detailed the second of one of her more forefront political memories, when emergency services were dropping in supplies for affected people they couldn’t reach through the floodwaters, “medication and baby formula and such”.
“I actually worked to get different MPs and a particular morning television show to visit the Latrobe Valley to see the aftermath (of the 2021 Traralgon flood),” she recalled.
Then acting Premier James Melino surveyed the damage in Traralgon, at the time when Daniel Andrews was on crutches. Gibson chuckled that it “didn’t stop me”, referring to her recent hip surgery which failed to slow down any of her work in council.
Mayor Gibson is of the opinion if such a disaster was to occur again, the support of her deputy and chief executive, Steve Piasente, and their combined experience as a team, would help Latrobe City manage such an event.
“Going through those experiences, you learn, and we have that knowledge as the senior members of council – some of which is really needed in the role,” she said.
Cr Gibson said the best part of being on council was “you have the chance to speak up for your community, and enact change for the better.”
The most challenging aspect was “when people see the need but aren’t there on the journey with us, or don’t care.”
“Let’s face it, the Valley has actually empowered the state to be so prosperous for 100-odd years, off the back of cheap power. Now our power stations are coming to an end, where are they?”, she said, seemingly referring to state government assistance.
“We were good enough to help you, now where are you in our hour of need?”
Citing clear commitment to leading through cooperation and openness, the mayor remains optimistic about the community’s direction over the next year, focusing on tangible outcomes through unity and shared effort, and declared the local economy as her biggest priority over the next year of her mayoral term.
“We’re very, very keen to see how we can land with diversifying our economy,” she said.
“It has a kick-on effect with crime too, to a point. If there is enough employment for everybody, people have less time that creates room for some desperate crimes to occur. It wouldn’t solve everything, but it would help.”
Despite this, and the eventual passing of the CBD Outreach Program at November’s council meeting, aimed at reducing these issues within the municipality, Mayor Gibson maintains that she “will follow up with Minister Carbines (Police Minister Anthony Carbines), and see if he will (visit the area), because I took it (his interest in doing so) in good faith.
“At the end of the day it’s about community,” Cr Gibson said
“That for me is the be-all, end-all about it (being mayor). What you can do for the community.
“I want to create hope for the community, one in which some are really struggling.”
