General Manager and Senior Staff
Paul Bennett
General Manager
Paul has made Local Government his chosen career since being engaged by Armidale City Council straight out of high school in 1987. His career has now spanned six councils across NSW and he has held senior management positions since 2002. He achieved a primary career objective to lead a large, progressive regional council when he joined Tamworth Regional Council in 2010 – the highlight of his career so far.
Paul has a Bachelor of Financial Administration (Accounting) and completed his MBA through the University of New England in 2013 with a major in Human Resource Management. He is a Past President of Local Government Professionals NSW (previously Local Government Managers Association) and served three years on the National Board of that organisation. He maintains an absolute passion for local government and the important role it has on the everyday lives of our local communities. He believes that the quality of any organisation is determined by the quality of its people, and that the attraction and retention of quality people can only be achieved through effective leadership.
Paul is married to Gail and has three children - Joe, Eliza, and Owen.
Phone: (02) 6767 5555
Email: Click here to email
Disclosures by Councillors and Designated Persons Return 2023-24 - Paul Bennett (PDF 2.3MB)
The Executive Manager Creative Communities and Experiences is responsible for a diverse range of organisational divisions including Tamworth Regional Gallery & Museums, Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC), Entertainment Venues, Cultural and Community Services, and Events.
Peter Resch
Director Regional Services
Peter joined Tamworth Regional Council in 1988, after moving from the former Yallaroi Shire Council. Peter completed his Master of Engineering while at Council and has held several positions such as Manager Waste Services and Manager Parks and Gardens before being appointed as the Director Regional Services in 2005.
The Regional Services Directorate employs over 200 staff is responsible for the delivery of a wide range of services to our community, such as civil construction, roads maintenance (over 3,000km of roads), parks and sporting fields, Airport and Aviation Development, asset management and planning of transport infrastructure such as roads, bridges, stormwater drainage and other road related infrastructure. Under his leadership, staff in his directorate deliver close to $100 million of capital works each year and manage around $50 million in annual operational expenditure.
Phone: (02) 6767 5003
Email: Click here to email
Disclosures by Councillors and Designated Persons Return 2023-24 - Peter Resch (PDF 2.3MB)
Bruce Logan
Director Water and Waste
After graduating as a civil engineer in Queensland, Bruce worked for 4 years at Moree Plains Shire Council before moving to Tamworth in 1991. Bruce held a number of roles across roads and drainage, and water and wastewater areas before being appointed to the Director Water Enterprises position in 2005. In 2015 after taking on the provision of solid waste services throughout the Council the Water and Waste Directorate became responsible for ensuring water, wastewater and waste services provided by Council are sustainable, comply with legislative requirements, are provided efficiently and effectively and will meet the needs of individual communities into the future. Council’s laboratory is also located in the Water and Waste Directorate.
Bruce has a graduate diploma in Local Government Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration. He is married to Dimity and they have two children, Pia and Blair.
Phone: (02) 6767 5708
Email: Click here to email
Disclosures by Councillors and Designated Persons Return 2023-24 - Bruce Logan (PDF 1.8MB)
Gina Vereker
Director Liveable Communities
Gina joined Tamworth Regional Council on 30 November 2020. She has had an extensive career within the public sector focusing on leadership and management roles within local government across two states. A town planner by profession, Gina has held executive Director positions with a number of local government authorities including Gympie, Wyong and Coffs Harbour Council.
Gina has tremendous planning knowledge however, beyond the broad parameters of this discipline, has applied her meta skills across engineering, environment, waste management, corporate governance, project management and economic development.
She is passionate about encouraging, motivating and educating individuals and teams to reach their potential and at times exceed their own expectations.
Gina is very much driven by the potential and ability of local government to make a positive difference to local communities.
Gina has relocated to Tamworth with her husband and 4-legged family. She looks forward to exploring the LGA, and indulging her passion for gardening while learning about the climate and seasons of her new home.
Phone: (02) 6767 5421
Email: Click here to email
Disclosures by Councillors and Designated Persons Return 2023-24 - Gina Vereker (PDF 2.6MB)
Executive Manager Strategy and Performance
The Executive Manager Strategy and Performance is responsible for Executive Services, Risk and Safety and Strategy and Performance.
Rami Abu-Shaqra
Chief Financial Officer
Joining Tamworth Regional Council in early 2022, Rami comes with a wealth of professional and executive experience having worked for globally renowned consulting firms, Andersen and Deloitte, followed by years as an executive director in the public sector. Rami plays a leading role in supporting councillors and management in funding Council’s strategic Blueprint 100 agenda in the most efficient and sustainable way.
Overseas; Rami helped transform public sector entities to fully sustained businesses, and in so doing, paying back to the community in the form of affordable housing projects and other services. His focus now is on delivering a financially sustained agenda for Council and to upgrade its knowledge and technological landscape.
As a Certified Practising Accountant, a member of CPA Australia, and Finance graduate from the University of New South Wales, Rami is passionate about crunching numbers.
This passion is always motivated by a positive impact on people’s lives, to create opportunities, adding value to stakeholders and providing better services to communities.
Rami enjoys traveling and loves to ride horses. He is married to Remaa and has three children: Ahmad, Ali and Jana.
Phone: 02 6767 5475
Email: Click here to email
Disclosures by Councillors and Designated Persons Return 2023-24 - Rami Abu Shaqra (PDF 608.8KB)