This month we spoke with Damian Carter, Chief Executive Officer at District Council of Streaky Bay, about his role, the Business Performance and Improvement Network and an exciting project council is working on.

As Chief Executive Officer of District Council of Streaky Bay, what does a typical day look like for you?

I get in the car and drive two minutes to our office where I have numerous carparks at my disposal to park in (honestly why would you live in Adelaide?). Then throughout my day, I complete a number of tasks based around the themes of:

• Strategic Planning and Decision-Making
• Meetings with Senior Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Financial Management
• Staff Management and Leadership
• Policy Development and Implementation
• External Relations and Advocacy
• Project Management
• Council Meetings
• Continuous Learning and Professional Development (thank you ChatGPT)

Then I get in my car and grab the family for a nice beach walk.

What is your career background?

I came across to Streaky Bay about two years ago, before this I worked in Local Government with the Barkly Regional Council in the Northern Territory and prior to this I worked as a General Manager for an extended period in the Asia-Pacific region. This is my second stint working in Local Government. In my first stint, I worked in Economic Development, Community Development and strangely enough Local Laws.     

What benefits to regional councils do the LG Professionals SA Networks provide?

Apart from the usual professional development and capacity building benefits, the range of LG Professionals SA Networks allows regional council staff to connect and network with their peers which promotes collaboration, knowledge exchange, and the sharing of resources, whilst fostering a sense of unity, strengthening of regional ties, and enabling staff to collectively address common challenges and opportunities.

What has been the biggest benefit to you of being part of the Business Performance and Improvement Network?

I joined the network as I’m passionate about driving innovation in the sector, however, to be honest I’ve really found the insights given in the various conversations facilitated by the network the biggest benefit so far.

Are there any exciting projects you are currently working on?

The greatest thing about working with a small regional council is the variety of items you get to work on and as a regional CEO this is no different. At the moment we are delivering several exciting projects. However, a strange, but true project is that all the Councils across the Eyre Peninsula are developing their own Monopoly game. With the aim of the project being to create destination awareness, develop community identity/pride and encourage collaboration amongst the councils across the Eyre Peninsula.

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

To be honest as a CEO you don’t get too much spare time, however when I do, I like to spend time with my young kids (3 & 4 years of age). Currently we are making a film using stop motion animation. I think it will be the greatest movie to come out of Streaky Bay since Blue Finn, however, to be honest it is most likely the only film to come out of Streaky Bay since Blue Finn.