Who is Val Schier?

Val Schier ~ your candidate for Mayor of Cairns- 2008

Val comes from a small village in the North East of Tasmania and first came to Cairns in 1982 after having worked in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. She moved to Machans Beach in 1984 and has worked in Cairns, Innisfail and Thursday Island over the past 19 years. She has one son who was educated at Machans Beach and Smithfield.

Val has worked in both private industry and the public service and has run her own business. After many years in the workforce in positions of motel manager, teacher, breakfast cook and mining treatment plant operator, Val joined the public service where her achievements include: being Director of Business Development at Far North Queensland Institute of TAFE, leading the implementation of $2 million of employment programs for unemployed people in North Queensland and being a Regional Director in the Department of Families.

Why run for Mayor of Cairns?
"My life experiences have given me skills in leadership, skills in planning and skills in delivering services to the community. I want to lead the City of Cairns in the direction that people want and in the way that people want. Most people really care about Cairns: they care about its character, they care about their lifestyle, they care about the beautiful, rich natural environment we live in.

I know that I can make a difference by finding that balance between economic development, social development and the environment. And I think that people want a real choice for the future."

Community involvement
• Machans Beach Progress Association• Friends of the Cairns Regional Gallery • Cairns Business Women's Club• Cairns Chamber of Commerce • Cairns and Far North Environment Centre• Australian Labor Party • The Cairns Forum
QualificationsBachelor of Arts, Diploma of EducationGraduate Diploma of Business Management

Contacts: email: val@cairnsfirst.org.au