Mayor reflects as he calls time on storied career

The local government election on October 21 will mark the end of a long career for Busselton Mayor Grant Henley.

He made the decision to not contest this election in May, and told the Mail he leaves the role with no regrets.

He joined council in 2009, concerned about a state government plan to develop over Churchill and Barnard Parks as part of a Jetty refurbishment plan.

“I was probably standing around the barbecue, telling people what I thought and they said, ‘Well why don’t you get on the council?”

Henley was elected right at the start of the now practically complete foreshore redevelopment project. He said being able to see that through from start to finish is one of his proudest achievements in his time on council.

“The Hilton’s not quite ready, but that’s pretty much the end of that that plan that we put together in 2010,” he said.

“Being able to see that all the way from butchers paper to being pretty well finished in a very busy and popular area has been wonderful.”

When Henley was first elected, the City’s population was about 30,000. It’s now more than 41,000. He said that has allowed for some big projects, like the airport or the performing arts centre.

“It was on the books for 15 years before we started it, and everyone just kicked it into the too hard basket. We got some money from the feds and decided to go ahead with it.

“It’s been a struggle, but it’ll be a fantastic asset as a performing arts center, as a community center and a convention and conference space. It’ll be a wonderful addition to the town.”

However, it also means he’s seen the strain grow on our roads and recreation facilities. He predicts that will be one of the main challenges for the incoming council, as they try to strike the balance between amenities and the cheque book.

“When your population’s increased by so much over that time, you very fast outpace your rec facilities.

“That’s a challenge going forward, the cost of building basketball courts and swimming pools and footy ovals and stuff. Especially the change rooms.

Having served as the figurehead of the City for eight years, Henley is no stranger to criticism leveled by Busselton’s passionate residents. Whether it was about Chlorine in the water, dogs on beaches, or money spent on City projects, Henley said he always appreciated how immersed the public have been in the workings of the City.

“It is good that people are engaged. I think social media has made people more engaged, but their passion is very short lived.

“It reaches a crescendo very quickly, and then they move on to the next topic of outrage or concern. So it’s hard to keep people’s interest for a long period of time.”

Despite staying in the role for eight years, Henley said he never had ambitions to be Mayor when he first put himself up for election. He said his predecessor, Ian Stubbs, mentored him into the role before his retirement in 2015. being one of the most experienced councillors at the time, he said he fell into the role naturally.

“Once I got on council, I wanted to be as good at it as I could be. So I put my hand up for everything… just to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could in that initial four year period.

“I was mentored a bit on my predecessor to step up into the deputy’s role for two years. And then he retired. And it was a bit assumed that I was able to do that.

Since then, he said, council has been much more stable, with less of a “revolving door” of councillors moving in and out, and more serving their full terms. A fact Henley credits for the success of so many projects.

“I think that’s probably been one of the successes, apart from those projects and things that we’ve delivered, is that we’ve been able to have a lot of stability. You cannot underestimate the value of having stability to an organisation, and the staff as well.”

While he may be leaving as one of that core group, he said that whatever the outcome of the election on Saturday, he’s confident he’s leaving the City in good hands.

“All the counselors who put their hand up have at least four years experience. There’s no excuses for not knowing the processes or procedures.”

He said the new Mayor would have to be patient, and above all else, listen to others’ opinions and be prepared to change your mind.

“You’ve got to work with the council, the staff, and the community. It’s a three way thing to get good outcomes.”

Henley said he won’t be fully retiring just yet. He plans to work in the summer with his on their businesses in the tourism industry. When the weather gets cooler, he plans to join the grey nomads in the migration to warmer climates.

“No one does anything on their own, so I’m extremely thankful to all those people that have helped make Busselton hopefully a better place than when we started.”