Ms Fisher had been working in a Queensland government-owned organisation.

“I found my work was touching so many communities but not the community I lived in,” she said.

“I wanted to get back into working where my work impacts my community and I wanted to get back into local government.”

The pieces fell into place and Ms Fisher started as Port Macquarie-Hastings Council’s infrastructure director almost two months ago.

The infrastructure division covers infrastructure delivery, the transport and stormwater network, and water and sewer.

Ms Fisher said when work had purpose, as a leader you could use that to energise, focus and align teams.

She said it had been a massive learning curve, not just getting her head around a new area, but a new home and a new organisation.

“I think the culture [at the council] is fantastic,” Ms Fisher said.

“You can see people are committed to what they do and everybody has been so lovely which makes it easy to learn.”

Ms Fisher believes in the importance of being community-focused.

She said we had a proud past, a fantastic environment and an exciting future.

Ms Fisher spoke about the value of working with other levels of government, the business sector and the broader community.

“Making a difference for the community means understanding where our community fits and how we work with other levels of government,” she said.

“One of the things I think is important is working with businesses as well.”

Ongoing population growth poses challenges as the council plans for the future.

“We have the opportunity right now to think about all the things that make Port Macquarie beautiful and make it fantastic and how we will preserve this while making sure we accommodate growth,” Ms Fisher said.

Ms Fisher, a civil engineer by profession, has a diverse career background which includes defence, local government, state government and the private sector.