Kain Neale has thrown his hat in the ring
and has nominated as a candidate for Cobar
Shire Council at the Local Government
Elections to be held in December.
“I have always been interested in politics at
all levels of government,” Kain said.
“I think that if you vote the same you can
expect the same results and thought that I may
be able to offer something different to the people
of Cobar.”
Kain said while he is not going to be running
with an agenda, he does however have concerns
about how the fly in fly out / drive in
drive out operations at the mines are impacting
our community and hopes that as a councillor
he can work to improve the situation.
“I grew up in Cobar and remember what a
great community spirit that the town has.
“I went to St John’s Parish School and then
attended Cobar High School.
“I enjoyed playing lots of sports as a kid in
Cobar and loved playing Rugby League.
“Both of my parents grew up in Cobar and
both sides of my family have a long association
with Cobar.”
He said it was that sense of community that
eventually brought him back to Cobar with his
wife Krysti and their two children.
After finishing Year 12, Kain was set to start
an apprenticeship at CSA Mine however, prior
to starting the Ashanti shutdown of the mine
occurred.
“I then applied to join the Army, was accepted
and officially signed on the 8th of September
1998.
“I was posted to several locations around
Australia including Albury, Darwin, Brisbane,
Adelaide and Kapooka (Wagga Wagga).
“I completed two deployments to Iraq and
earned the ‘Chief of the Army’s Commendation
– Gold’ for my work on my first deployment.”
During his time as a soldier in the Army,
Kain held a number of leadership positions
which taught him a number of crosstransferable
skills.
“I am a good communicator, active listener,
public speaker and I happily engage with people
at all levels in the community.
“I have sound leadership qualities that have
been tested whilst in the Army and during both
of my deployments to Iraq,” Kain said.
“Being in a leadership position in the Army
allowed me to hone my skills as a mediator,
even within the Army people have conflict.”
After being discharged in February 2011,
Kain and his family lived in Adelaide where he
became involved with the State Emergency
Service (SES)
“I eventually became the Deputy Unit Manager.
“In this role I was responsible for the day to
day running of the unit.
“This included managing finances, holding
positions on steering committees in the broader
SES organisation, operating as the ‘Officer
in Charge’ during large scale weather events,
chairing unit committees and overseeing the
correct corporate governance procedures.
“All of these experiences, coupled with my
experience within the ADF, have allowed me
to gain a wide and varied skill set I can offer as
a councillor,” Kain said.
The Neales moved to Cobar in January 2019
and Kain now works at Cobar High School as
a Farm Assistant.
Outside of his work and family commitments,
Kain is the president of the RSL Sub
Branch and uses his experiences learnt in the
Army to help out with the local Cadets.
“I thoroughly enjoy both of these roles and
hope to continue well into the future,” Kain
said.
Kain said moving forward and having to live
within the ‘COVID framework’, he would like
to see a return of larger community events and
festivals in Cobar like ANZAC Day, Grey
Mardi Gras, Running on Empty, Cobar Races,
Australia Day etc and advocates for Council to
be involved in more events to help the community
reconnect through shared experiences.
“I am approachable, open and honest and
hope that this will encourage people to start a
conversation with me about their feelings
about Cobar,” he said.
