Walgett's new General Manager is looking forward to taking up her new position. 

"Taking up a role like this has been a goal of mine for over ten years," Megan Dixon told the Western Plains App. 

"It took a friend not that long ago to remind me about what my long-term goal actually was." 

Dixon, who has resigned as CEO of Regional Development Australia (RDA) Australia Orana to take up the position, said it almost took a friend to remind of her not long ago for her to remember that her goal was to return to local government. 

"The Walgett shire appealed to me because I think it's a good fit with my skills and experience." 

Born in Victoria before living in the Northern Territory and North Queensland, she spent five years of boarding school in the western Queensland town of Charters Towers as a teenager. 

Dixon pointed to her experience in agriculture, tourism, and the indigenous community as three big reasons why the job is right for her.

Her first main job was in agricultural quarantine, before going to do a Bachelor of Commerce and an Executive Masters of Business Administration. She started her own consulting firm before taking on the role at RDA. 

She has also previously worked at a local council in Coffs Harbour, an experience where she says she found "wonderful bosses who pushed me to do amazing things in my job." 

Megan Dixon, Image: Supplied. 

While at RDA, she said she honed her ability in strategic planning, change anticipation and adaption as well as goal setting, but all along she said she missed her time at the local council, a space that she says enables her to explore her passion for economic development.  

"There is tremendous potential around tourism development at Lightning Ridge and cultural development with Aboriginal people in Walgett," she said. 

"Then there are places like Collarenebri, which are just special." 

Dixon also has a strong interest in apprenticeships and traineeships, and she says she will be looking at implementing both directly through the council. 

She also said migration "will be a pillar for the shire" and she will be paying close attention to the needs of locals as well as the Walgett Shire Councilors to see what needs to be done for matters like road repair and maintenance.  

Beyond that, Dixon told the Western Plains App she really is focused on listening to people and understanding the issues before she makes more specific plans. 

"What I look forward to is building strong relationships, wanting to understand their needs and their desires, working through these processes to build projects."