Simon Chate was elected Ballina Shire Council (Ward C) in 2021 representing the Greens and is currently vying for a second term.

Simon Chate has lived in Alstonville with his partner, Shirley, for the past 20 years. They love Ballina Shire. They love the warm and friendly community, the easy-going lifestyle and spectacular landscape.

As well as being a family man, Simon is a musician, a choir director and music educator. He has had extensive community interaction through his role as a teacher at Alstonville High School where he has been in a position to affect change through his membership of the school P & C committee. Simon is also a member of the Rous Mill Hall committee and the Summerland Toastmasters Club.

Since 2012, Simon has taken strong leadership roles within the community, both through the creation and running of Alstonville’s community choir, Awesome Voices, and through co-founding and organising the monthly, fund-raising community performance event, Rous Unplugged, which has raised over $40,000 for local charities and causes.

Simon’s qualifications include Bachelor of Contemporary Music (Southern Cross University), Graduate Diploma of Education (Southern Cross University), Diploma in Music Technology in Education (Newcastle University), Cert III – Live Production and Services (NIDA) and Cert IV – Training and Assessment (Aust. Forensic Services).

Simon feels passionate that protecting our environment (an ultimately finite resource) is of the utmost importance and he joined the Greens in 2019. He feels that environmental factors are too often given insufficient consideration or are dismissed outright. He believes we need to find the right balance in addressing the climate emergency and protecting our environment whilst facilitating our community’s continued growth and change in a sustainable, family-friendly, and culturally sensitive way.

As well as providing infrastructure and recreational facilities, Simon believes Council must look at increasing the availability of longer-term rental properties and find a way to make local housing more affordable. Simon is also keen to ensure transparency around big decisions in Council and straightforward access to community consultation.

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