Introducing Your Councillors

Moree Plains Shire Council will be made up of 9 Councillors who were elected for 2 years and 9 months term (a reduced term as a result of the 2021 election being rescheduled).

Mayor, Cr Mark Johnson	Deputy Mayor, Cr Susannah Pearse	Cr Mekayla Cochrane
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0474 360 539	0473 001 017	0474 552 925
Cr Murray Hartin	Cr Kelly James	Cr Michael Montgomery AM
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0474 462 047	0474 446 499	0427 542 051
Cr Lisa Orchin	Cr Brooke Sauer	Cr Greg Smith
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0474 595 619	0474 203 672	0428 237 690

 You are welcome to contact them directly to ask questions, provide feedback or raise a matter about issues affecting Moree Plains Shire.

Note: Councillors have social media accounts that they use to express their own personal views and not necessarily those of council. Any councillor that identifies themselves on a social media page as a councillor is bound by the council’s code of conduct policy.

Mayor Mark Johnson

Cr Johnson was born in Moree and is a local and a Chartered Accountant and a partner at C & W Financial Services, a company he’s been with for most of his working career. He was a Local Government Auditor and one of his jobs was auditing Council. He’s also the Chairman of the agriculture products and services business McGregor Gourlay. On Facebook Cr Johnson stated, “I understand the Shire, and the people who call it home, but more so I just love the place and want to see it do better”.

Committees sitting on:
Moree and District Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Moree Board, Boggabilla Crime Prevention Committee (Chair), Moree Community Safety Committee (Chair), Mungindi Crime Prevention Committee (Chair), Road Network Consultative Group, Country Mayors Association, New England Joint Organisation and Newell Highway Task Force.

Deputy Mayor, Susannah Pearse

Moving to the Moree Plains 12 years ago, Cr Pearse currently runs a farm with her husband, which has been in the family for six generations. With a background in marketing, communications and economic development in both private and public sectors, Cr Pearse previously worked for Council at a management level as part of the Integrated Planning and Economic Development teams. One of her many achievements was co-creating the successful My Moree brand and obtaining unprecedented levels of grant funding. She has a passion for the Moree Plains and is keen to ensure that Council strives for best practice local government whilst encouraging opportunities for growth.

Committees sitting on:
NorthernJoint Regional Planning Panel, Pallamallawa War Memorial Hall Committee, Arts North West, Floodplain Risk Management Committee, Road Network Consultative Group, Urban Advisory Committee and Reconciliation Committee.

Councillor Mekayla Cochrane

Cr Cochrane is the first Gomeroi woman Councillor to be elected to Council. She has lived in Moree most of her life and has family in Mungindi, Boggabilla and connections to Toomelah. She worked for Council for a year in the Community Development department and her youth volunteering efforts won her a National Reconciliation Week award. In her role at Just Reinvest NSW, Cr Cochrane is helping to support the Aboriginal community in lowering interactions with the criminal justice system. As a Councillor, she wants to focus on better opportunities and support for young people, as well as for them to feel more included in the whole Moree Plains community.

Committees sitting on:
Mungindi Youth Council, Boggabilla Crime Prevention Committee, Mungindi Crime Prevention Committee and Road Network Consultative Group.

Councillor Murray Hartin

A celebrated Australian poet, Cr Hartin has received critical acclaim for his work. His most well-known poems include ‘Turbulence’, ‘Rain from Nowhere’ and ‘The Hog Whisperer’. He started as a journalist before becoming a full-time poet, which has led him to live in places like Sydney, Newcastle, Tamworth and Melbourne. In recent years, he’s returned home to Moree. The Royal Hotel named its lounge bar in his honour.

Committees sitting on:
Garah Public Hall Committee, Boggabilla Crime Prevention Committee, Moree Community Safety Committee, Road Network Consultative Group, Urban Advisory Committee and Reconciliation Committee.

Councillor Kelly James 

Cr James works as a Justice Advocate, where she supports people with cognitive impairments in the NSW criminal justice system. In her spare time, she’s studying a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice and she has other qualifications in business, project and contract management; civil construction and work, health and safety. She also runs a mowing and landscaping business with her husband and worked for Council for 16 years. Born and raised in Moree, she’s heavily involved in local community groups. She’s the President of the Parents and Citizens’ Association at Moree Public School and Moree Secondary College as well as the Moree Little Athletics Club. Her contributions to the Shire were recognised and at the 2019 Moree Reconciliation Awards she was awarded the female Non-Aboriginal of the Year. She was also awarded the Volunteer of the Year at the 2020 Australia Day Awards.

Committees sitting on:
Moree Youth Council, Weemelah Public Hall Management Committee, Moree Cultural Art Foundation Board, Road Network Consultative Group, Urban Advisory Committee and Border Towns Crime Prevention Committee.

Councillor Mike Montgomery 

Cr Montgomery was first elected in 1987. Besides a break during the 2012–2015 term, he has continuously been a Moree Plains Shire Councillor the whole time, six of those years he served as Mayor. He was President of the Australian Local Government Association and the Local Government and Shires Association of NSW. He was a member of the Great Artesian Basin Consultative Committee for more than a decade as well as the Council of Australian Governments. Cr Montgomery is from Moree and runs a mixed farm, called ‘Urella’, near Ashley. He lives on the property with his wife Nell and they have four children.

Committees sitting on:
Ashley Centenary of Federation Community Hall Committee, Airport Advisory Committee, Road Network Consultative Group and North-West Weight of Loads Committee.

Councillor Lisa Orchin

Born into a family who’s been in the Shire for more than 130 years, Cr Orchin has lived on the Moree Plains all her life and currently resides in Weemelah. She was originally a teacher and then transitioned into the world of agriculture. After becoming the Office Manager of the family farm, she became a founding member of Grower Co-an initiative designed to streamline ag supply chain operations and make the whole process more cost-effective.

Committees sitting on:
Boomi Pool Management Committee, Boomi Memorial Hall Committee, Mungindi Home for the Aged Committee, Mungindi Showground and Racecourse Committee, Road Network Consultative Group, Big Sky Libraries Committee and Border Regional Organisation of Councils.

Councillor Brooke Sauer

Cr Sauer has over 20 years of experience in agriculture research, extension, consulting and, most notably, in emerging technologies. It has taken her to many places globally where she’s shared and built knowledge with other farmers, researchers and agronomists. Cr Sauer has formed a Moree-based consulting company, IntellectAg, where she manages and delivers national projects that develop support tools and skills for farmers Australia wide. She works with research institutes, strategic bodies, agribusinesses and farmers to ensure that the agricultural industry utilises data and technology to meet sustainable and productivity targets.

Committees sitting on:
Floodplain Risk Management Committee, Moree Community Safety Committee, Road Network Consultative Group, Local Traffic Committee, Joint Regional Planning Panel – Northern and Garah Public Hall Committee.

Councillor Greg Smith

Cr Smith was first elected to Council in 2016 and served as Deputy Mayor for three years. Now that he has been re-elected, he will continue the work he began in his previous terms, such as more education and employment opportunities. Cr Smith’s also lobbying for a bigger budget for road infrastructure that can be used to improve driving conditions and seal more of the Shire’s gravel roads. He’s the fourth generation of his family on the Moree Plains and he lives on a farm near Gurley.

Committees sitting on:
Bushfire Management, Northwest Regional Weeds Committee, Rural Fire Service District Liaison Committee and Road Network Consultative Group, Rural Roads Group and Local Traffic Committee.