Hailing originally from the Inner West, Christine Kay made her steady way over to Ku-ring-gai for the leafy green, as many do.
In the 2017 Local Government Elections, Christine first ran for Ku-ring-gai Council. Though unsuccessful, she persisted and put her hand up again in 2021, where the community elected her to represent the St Ives Ward.
Since, under the previous mayoralty of Councillor Sam Ngai, Christine served as Deputy Mayor. Now, after the 2024 elections and following an Extraordinary Meeting that swore the councillors in, Christine Kay was named Mayor of Ku-ring-gai Council.
Though the mayoralty was not a “northern star” for Mayor Kay, she finds the trust her fellow councillors have placed in her a privilege.
‘Local government is not a stepping stone for me to go to state or federal [government]. I’m here to do the best that I can,’ says Mayor Kay. ‘My emphasis this term is everyone being respectful of people’s opinions. That’s the beauty of Council as a whole, if we can bring out the skillsets that everybody has, we can do some amazing things.’
To Mayor Kay, the local community is her family.
She has entrenched herself in volunteer efforts, and advocated for services to support mental health, youth suicide, domestic violence prevention, and disability. Mayor Kay sits as a committee member for the PCYC Hornsby Ku-ring-gai, has volunteered with the Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter, worked closely with Girl Guides and WildThings NSW, and is a Rotarian for the St Ives Rotary. At the same time, Mayor Kay is an elected board member on the Local Government NSW committee, and is a member of the Northern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (NSROC).
Making volunteering attractive to young people is a quiet goal for her time as Mayor.
‘Volunteers are gold, we’re got to treat them like royalty,’ says Mayor Kay. ‘If you find something that is an interest area for you, then you volunteer into that area. That’s how I picked some of the volunteer groups I’ve picked something I am passionate about.’
Mayor Kay is hoping to aid in the fight against domestic and family violence. After three years, she was able to get the Status Women’s Advisory Committee up and running, and would like to host more forums about advocacy and safety.
A key issue over the next term is housing. Ku-ring-gai Council under Sam Ngai controversially engaged the Minns’ Government in legal action over the TOD policies. Council recently resolved to allow the community to give feedback on a list of scenarios for housing, and Mayor Kay finds this the best solution to tackling new housing policy.
‘Council voted to oppose the blanket approach to new housing near the railway stations,’ explains Mayor Kay. ‘Let the community decide the outcomes. You’ll have different views from people that live in apartments, people that live in houses… we need to get the balance right.’
Councillor Christine Kay will serve as mayor for a period of two years.