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Michael Edgar
That lesson stayed with him as Michael progressed into management roles and he discovered that leadership offered a new kind of satisfaction. Beyond delivering projects and services, he could help shape organisations and support the people within them.
In 2005, Michael joined The Hills Shire Council as Group Manager of Environment and Planning before moving into the role of Group Manager of Strategic Planning three years later. The timing was perfect. The Hills was entering a period of growth that would transform the region over the following two decades. New suburbs and major infrastructure projects were being planned and the challenges of balancing growth with liveability were huge.
Michael became deeply involved in many of the strategic projects that helped shape the future of the Shire, including the Rouse Hill Regional Centre, North Kellyville precinct planning, Hills 2026 and Hills 2050.
In 2017, after years of leadership within the organisation, he was appointed General Manager. Today, Michael oversees an organisation of more than 700 staff while working closely with elected councillors to deliver services and infrastructure for a rapidly growing community. However, despite the size and complexity of the role, his motivation remains surprisingly simple.
“ At its core, local government attracts people who want to serve their community,” he says.“ There’ s a real satisfaction in knowing that what you do helps improve people’ s quality of life. I often tell people that councils are full of
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opportunities if you’ re willing to learn, retrain and stretch yourself. You can build an incredibly rewarding career while making a genuine difference to your community.”
Equally important has been the people he has worked alongside. Michael speaks passionately about the collaborative culture that has characterised the organisations where he has worked.
“ I’ ve been lucky to work in councils where people support each other,” he says.“ Success is rarely about one person. It’ s about teams working together. I have an executive team that supports me, but we also support each other. If someone is struggling, we all get in and help. The question is always,‘ How do we fix this together?’”
Creating that culture has become one of Michael’ s proudest achievements.
“ I don’ t think where I’ ve got to is just about my own personal growth,” he says.“ The people I’ ve worked with have pushed me forward. They don’ t necessarily want my job, but they don’ t want me to fail either. They want all of us to succeed.” Over 40 years, there have been countless projects and achievements, but one stands above the rest. For Michael, the redevelopment of Waves Fitness and Aquatic Centre represents local government at its best. The project involved closing and demolishing the community’ s only public pool before rebuilding it from the ground up which was a decision that required enormous trust from residents.
“ We had to convince the community
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Michael with Mayor Dr Michelle Byrnes.
that not only would we close their pool, but that we would actually rebuild it,” he says.
Then came the additional challenge of delivering the project during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ The logistics were extraordinary,” he says.“ Many similar projects around the state experienced major problems, but our team delivered it within budget, and it’ s exceeded many of our expectations.”
For Michael, the success wasn’ t just about the building itself.
“ It demonstrated the talent and expertise across the entire organisation. Everyone had to do their job well for it to succeed.”
While projects like Waves leave a visible legacy, Michael believes some of local government’ s most important contributions are less obvious. He points to the overall improvements in quality of life he has witnessed throughout his career.
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“ Our communities have changed enormously,” he says.“ There are still challenges to solve, but overall, I think quality of life now is far better than it was in the past.”
After 40 years, Michael’ s impact can be measured in many ways, through the plans he helped create, the infrastructure delivered, the communities shaped and the people he has mentored along the way. But perhaps his greatest legacy is the culture of service he continues to champion. Local government exists, he says, because communities choose to work together to create a better future.
Forty years after a chance conversation set him on an unexpected path, Michael Edgar remains driven by that same commitment. I think all the communities he has worked and the residents of the Hills Shire should feel lucky to have such a dedicated public servant at the helm.
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THE HILLS INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine. com. au ISSUE 133 // JULY 2026 7