Alison Morgan has swapped her sweeping views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Darling Harbour for Victoria Street and Woodward Park.

And she’s absolutely loving the tree change!

Alison is the Senior Regional Coordinator for Western NSW, attached to the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

She stepped into the position only in February and one of her most recent responsibilities was to organise the visit by the Consul Generals to Parkes and Dubbo for a look at the central west.

Alison is a country girl, having been born and raised near Wellington (on a property near Guerie).

She attended school in Wellington until Year 10 when she left to attend the Loreto Boarding School in Normanhurst.

Then she studied a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Law and Government at Sydney University.

She also studied Archaeology and Ancient History which is how she met her husband, Richard – an archaeologist.

They married in 1984 and have two children, Harriet (25), and Edward (17) studying the HSC.

“They are actually living in our house in Sydney,” Alison said.

“It was a case of the parents moving out and the kids moving in.

“Richard and I were looking for a change, a bit of an adventure,” she explained.

“Richard was offered an education management position in New Guinea, but we thought it was too far away, and he was looking for something else.

“He applied and was successful in securing a job with Forbes Shire Council.

“My choice was whether to stay in Sydney or come out here.

“This position with the Department of Premier and Cabinet in Dubbo came up and I applied and was successful.

“We found this delightful home in Parkes and we’re now based here, and loving it.

“After 25 years in the city, it has been a big change for us coming back to the country,” Alison said.

“We had a unit in Kent Street right in the heart of Sydney, and  woke up to views of the harbour bridge and Darling Harbour.

“But we are now loving this new experience and being back in the bush.  It’s certainly different to our younger days (Richard is from Bathurst).

“Things are so much quieter, we certainly don’t miss the hustle and bustle.”

Alison said her job involves a great deal of travel, and they try to get back to Sydney for the family as often as possible.

“But we are definitely not missing out on any of the city benefits.

“We love attending classical music concerts – Richard plays a church organ and has just had one re-located into Forbes Shire Council.

“We have been very fortunate to have attended several high quality concerts  while we have been here, the restaurants are also excellent and there is plenty of good coffee.

“So we are not suffering any depression from leaving the city – we have our music, coffee and dining, and plenty of city visitors we take on tours of the area.

“I also enjoy reading and the Parkes Library is wonderful.  Because of my travel, I am now working my way through a large list of talking books.

“We’re not missing out on anything.”

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Alison joined the Department of Premier and Cabinet this year, after eight years in a senior position with the Department of Family and Community Services (Housing). 

She is now one of seven regional coordinators in NSW – two in the metropolitan area, and others on the North Coast, Hunter, Central Coast, Illawarra/Shoalhaven and Western.

“My area covers west of the Blue Mountains and I have 10 staff with offices in Tamworth, Wagga and Dubbo, as well as an officer who works out of Bourke.

“My role is to coordinate the activities of government agencies, especially programs where more than one government department is involved.

“For example, a domestic violence program can bring together police, education, FACS, housing, health… I liaise with all the agencies.

“I also have a major role with local government – there are 68 councils in my area.”

The Department of  Premier and Cabinet  also works very closely with the Consular Corp, who represent Ambassadors from other countries.

“The Ambassadors are all located in Canberra, but their Consuls General are in Sydney.   There are about 100 in the Consular Corp.

“They are always looking for opportunities for their country and the department is keen to get them out of Sydney so they can see other areas of the state.

“There can be wonderful roll-on effects for their country and all sorts of opportunities with long term benefits can occur.

“That’s why we were keen to bring them out here to Parkes and Dubbo.  We arranged and coordinated the recent visit which proved very successful.

“We had 16 consuls come out.  

“I understand that after the Parkes visit, three countries are following up on opportunities which might be suitable, and meetings are being set up with them for possible future investment.”