Our Committee

RDA Far North is a not-for-profit organisation governed by a committee of regional people appointed for their industry knowledge and understanding of the Far North region. Members are appointed via an application process through the Commonwealth Government, State Government and Local Government Association.

Committee Members

Mark has a deep seeded passion for the outback, developed over a period of eighteen years living and working in the region. Mark first arrived in the Outback in 1993 as a young Constable with the South Australia Police stationed at Leigh Creek Police Station. Over the ensuing nine years until 2002, he lived and/or worked at Marree, Innamincka, Marla and the Pitjantjatjara Lands, Coober Pedy, Woomera, Roxby Downs, Andamooka, William Creek and finally at Oodnadatta.

It was at Oodnadatta where his passion for the outback manifested into a more formal community development direction. Mark served as the Chair of the Oodnadatta Progress Association from 1999 until 2002, a position, likened to a town Mayor, which oversaw all municipal activity in the town. This position allowed Mark to work closely with the Outback Areas Community Development Trust (the predecessor to the Outback Communities Authority). When the opportunity to take up a new role with the Trust as a Community Development Officer, Mark resigned from the South Australia Police and moved to Port Augusta in 2002.

Initially employed as a Community Development Officer, the premature departure of the Trust’s Manager provided an opportunity for Mark to relieve and ultimately confirm himself in that position in 2003. Since that time Mark has overseen a significant increase in the local government function of the Trust brought about by significant change in economic, social and environmental activity in the region. These changes culminated in July 2010 with the creation of the Outback Communities Authority, of which Mark was the inaugural General Manager.