Darriea Turley, President of Local Government New South Wales and current Broken Hill councillor, has taken home the Councillor Lilliane Brady OAM Award at the Ministers’ Awards for Women in Local Government last week.
The annual awards honour the significant contributions and milestones of women in the local government sector. These awards underscore the importance of increasing women’s participation and challenging entrenched gender stereotypes.
This year, the awards witnessed an unprecedented number of nominations, as winners were celebrated in a ceremony at Parliament House on October 4, co-hosted by Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig and Minister for Women Jodie Harrison.
“Very exciting. It was a great surprise, and if I had been more prepared, I would have taken my family with me,” a delighted Cllr Turley told the Barrier Truth when asked about the award win.
Ms Turley went on to detail how crucial of a role her family plays in her career, and says that, along with her love for Broken Hill, is what drives her.
“Daryl, my husband, and Jonathon and Curtis, we all share a passion for Broken Hill, we just love this outback town.
“My Dad was a union leader and check inspector for the mines, and he always told me that you have to stand up for your community and I have always done that,” Ms Turley told the Truth.
The award was special on another level for Cllr Turley, as she knew Lilliane Brady, the person the award is named after.
“I knew Lilliane Brady very well and she would be chuffed that someone from the Far West received the award that honoured her.
“She would always get out and lead and show her passion. Lilliane was always at the forefront of a protest march.”
And although Ms Turley has been recognised – she won’t be resting on her laurels. “There’s a lot to be done. In Broken Hill and across the state of New South Wales.
“I’m having meetings with all the ministers to talk about the priority areas and how we can improve liveability for the Broken Hill and our rural communities and across the state.”
Before Councillor Turley left, we asked what her thoughts were on the Voice to Parliament referendum, particularly given our interview was taking place outside of the location where pre-polling was occurring.
“The referendum is important, it’s important to me. I worked in rural remote health, and I understand what this could mean to the Aboriginal communities and to our non-Indigenous communities as well.
“A big motivation for me is to recognise our First nations people in the constitution. It is done across the world. We are one of the only countries in the world that doesn’t do that.”
