Warrnambool City Council chief executive announces he is stepping down

​Mr Anson told The Standard “it’s time”.

“I’ve picked a time that would suit the council and an incoming successor so they would have an adequate amount of time to own the job,” he said. “Whoever my replacement is will have two years working with the council before there is a new one. They will have time to put their abilities before the council.” 

Mr Anson has worked for the council for 31 years, starting as deputy town clerk. He said he was proud Warrnambool had been voted the second-most liveable region in Australia this year and unemployment was low. Mr Anson thanked his staff and councillors and said he was “immensely proud of the community and what it had achieved”.

“The city is in a sweet spot,” he said.

He said playing a role in the sale of the city’s abattoir to Colin McKenna in 1988 and watching the subsequent establishment of Midfield Meats had been a highlight. Mr McKenna’s Midfield Group has since become a major employer and a multi-million dollar international company. He said Warrnambool’s strength was its independence and the power of people that worked quietly behind the scenes.

“The best example of that is Peter’s Project,” he said. “Everything was staked against it, but the community just did it.” 

Other highlights of his time at the helm included securing $10 million in external funding for the city centre renewal, the Lighthouse Theatre rebuild, the Warrnambool Airport upgrade, the North Warrnambool Flood Mitigation Project, rezoning 25 years’ worth of residential and industrial land and the Pavilion Cafe.

The council will advertise for a replacement.