Rather than touting a one size fits all platform, he believes that every issue a council deals with merits individual consideration.

“Any single issue is a very very small part of what council does,” says Mr Harrison.

“The really important thing is to have a group of people who area able to asses the circumstances of a situation and to come up with a solution that serves best the broader community.”

The former Mayor of Palerang Council, Mr Harrison particularly wants to see a council which can understand the needs of all its constituents, including those living in rural areas.

“I think an important part of this first term of the new council is to ensure that community interests are being carried off in the structure and organisation of the council” says Mr Harrison.

“The important thing is to ensure that the council organisation recognises the needs of the broader community, in particular that will be the needs of the rural community, because they’re already quite familiar with what needs to be done in an urban environment” says Mr Harrison.

“It’s a case of understanding what the needs of rural communities are, and representing those needs to council, and ensuring that they’re dealt with as well as they can.”

He believes this approach also provides valuable perspective, piercing the urban bubble that can see highly politicised city councils.

“Coming from the Palerang environment... there’s an opportunity to provide a different view of the way things work in the Queanbeyan area” says Mr Harrison.

Mr Harrison also believes that communication and consultation is of critical importance to rural councils.

“Communication has to be managed in a different way in rural communities,” says Mr Harrison.

“It is very much more a face to face effort, and that takes a lot of work.”

He would like to see the Queanbeyan Palerang council maintain strong communication with its constituents.