AVERILL Halleur was born in Melbourne and grew up in the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges.

“I made the move to Beechworth just over two years ago with my husband and two munchkins - we are incredibly happy here,” she said.

What do you do workwise?

I am a specialist in strategic sourcing and international trade and enjoy casually working as a pilates instructor.

My most important role to date though is as a mama to my two beautiful children.

What brought you to your role/career?

I was recruited in the last year of my double degree by a large player in the steel and mining sector and was excited at the opportunity to work in a primary industry of that scale and with such a global orientation.

I was proud to be working for an Australian company and intrigued to enter a field that is still somewhat new territory for women - this is changing fortunately.

What do you love about your work?

First and foremost, it would be the opportunity to engage with people from all walks of life - metallurgists to lawyers, freight providers to finance teams, warehouse managers to executives.

As part of that, I have been fortunate to undertake a lot of travel both nationally and overseas too which is a passion of mine.

Beyond that, I love how dynamic and fast paced the industry is and have particular interests in strategy, best practice and issue resolution.

What do you do in the community?

I have been fortunate enough to be involved as a volunteer with the Beechworth Kindergarten committee since 2023 as the committee’s president.

It is such a beautiful community of families and offers such an incredible learning environment and program.

It is a real gem within our community and has a long-standing history, so it is a privilege to be involved.

And, as a parent, I really value and take a lot of joy from being engaged in my daughter’s learning experience.

Is there an important community issue that you think needs addressing?

Limited childcare spaces and forward constraints on kindergarten places (notably four-year-old capacity with the roll-out of the State Government’s pre-prep program in 2027) are key issues for young families within the community.

What would you do to solve change, improve that situation?

We need engagement, funding and planning/approval support from Indigo Shire, state and federal governments, to improve early years education and care capacity in a sustainable way that supports the differing needs and values of families by preserving the variety of service offerings we currently enjoy.

What do you see as one of the most important current world issues?

A growing lack of tolerance and respect for differing cultures, races, belief systems, socio-economic conditions, etc.

This intolerance is becoming increasingly present in political rhetoric and the public sphere, and is being expressed physically in military aggression and wars waged.

The targeted hate, social injustice, inequity and oppression that all stem from this concern me greatly.

If the person you would most like to meet or knew, came to Indigo Shire (past or present), or was already here, who would that be, what would you show them, and why?

I would actually flip this question around a little bit - my great-great grandfather was local larrikin and well-known coach driver Mick Dougherty.

If he were able to come back, I would love for him to show me his favourite places, hear about his encounters with Ned Kelly and his many passes over the alpine region.

What book are you reading?

‘Wifedom’ by Anna Funder which I am thoroughly enjoying.