Barbara Armitage - Australian Labour Party (1980 – 1999)

“Local Government has the capacity to inspire change, to really know the needs of the little people and the best way to manage and deal with the community is to be completely honest with them.”

A prominent figure in New South Wales (NSW) local government, Barbara Armitage is credited with preventing Bondi Beach from becoming a high-rise precinct. She was a Labor Party candidate for Vaucluse in 1995, Alderman for the Waverley Municipal Council from 1980-1997 and Mayor of Waverley between 1987 and 1999. Barbara was appointed a Member of the Order (OAM) in 2002.

Barbara Armitage was born in Sydney and was educated at Bondi Public School and Dover Heights Girls’ High School. She worked for the NSW Council of Social Services, as a Judge’s Associate and as a Project Officer to the Minister’s Advisory Service on Family and Children’s Services.

Barbara joined the ALP in 1973 and has held numerous positions at branch and electorate level.

Barbara was Mayor of Waverley for 10 years, the longest term served by a Mayor of Waverley in 150 years. Elected Mayor in 1987 with a policy to resist high-rise development on Bondi Beach, she implemented a Heritage Conservation plan. She also encouraged cultural events centred on Bondi, including the Festival of the Winds, Flickerfest and the Fringe Festival. She was Chairperson of the Sydney Coastal Councils. She was appointed to the Local Government Grants Commission, becoming Chairman in 1999. Barbara Armitage was a member of the Premier’s Crime Prevention Council and is an accredited mediator with the Community Justice Centre and in 2005, Barbara won the Local Government Outstanding Service Award.

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