How she’s building powerful connections that last
As our Landholder Relations Support Officer, Kelli’s warm, friendly personality is a gift when building respectful relationships with landholders. Having grown up on a rural property herself, Kelli’s passionate about ensuring landholders are part of the conversation every step of the way on every Powerlink project.
A powerful sense of purpose
Kelli can vividly remember standing at the door of her childhood home on her family’s Central Queensland sugar cane and cattle property when the trucks came roaring in.
As Kelli recalls: “Several trucks came driving through our property unexpectedly, and my parents were understandably not happy as they didn’t know what was going on.”
Kelli’s parents were landholders for a local authority. The trucks had been sent to install a light on a big pole on the property. When Kelli’s father approached a driver to understand what was going on, his questions were waved away: “Don’t know mate, have you checked your mail?”
Kelli’s parents were extremely upset by this interaction.
“The pole and light seemed to turn up one day with no regard for my parents and their business.”
The incident stuck with Kelli and now, it’s a big source of motivation for her at Powerlink.
“I’ve always been drawn to land access in businesses because of my parents, to make sure there are processes and agreements in place. In a perfect world, I want to make sure that landholders are being looked after and that their property is respected. And that if they’re hosting infrastructure of any kind, they're having a good experience.”
Kelli is extra proud to play the role she does at Powerlink because she can see the cooperative approach the organisation has taken to building relationships.
“There’s just that human element here. We come in with respect for each landholder’s farming operations and their business, as they are all run differently. We wouldn’t go and do a transmission vegetation inspection if we knew that a landholder was mustering that day. Or we'd make sure we found out where livestock were grazing before allowing a helicopter to access the substation on that property. We respect not just the person, but their day-to-day operations, too. And that starts with a phone call and a conversation.”
It’s about every conversation started
For Kelli, treating people with respect is part of her DNA. The majority of her role is office-based and involves ensuring the team is resourced to comply with landholder access protocols and biosecurity obligations.
But the rest of the time, Kelli is out in the field, visiting properties that host Powerlink infrastructure. And she makes a point of getting to know those landholders.
“It’s taking the time to ask people how their kids went in the swimming carnival, or if their daughter had a win in her dressage event. It’s just being human - it’s keeping kindness in what we do. And I love it.”
Kelli says showing up with simple courtesy, and that human touch can make a real difference to how landholders relate to a project.
“I've got a lot of family and friends who are landholders and who are going to be directly impacted by various projects with other organisations. They’ve said to me, ‘You know, if you were here, at least we could have a conversation with you.’ Because at Powerlink, we're trying to do the right thing. It’s demonstrating that we respect people and it’s really nice to know Powerlink has that reputation.”
A career with the Powerlink team
Ask Kelli what she thinks about her Powerlink colleagues and she’ll tell you: “There's something about this team. I couldn’t ask for a better set of people, it just works”
Before joining Powerlink in 2018, Kelli had built a career in senior and executive administrative roles within the mining industry. She says that Powerlink has been incredible in supporting her to build her career and she’s valued being able to do it alongside a team of people who are always prepared to share their knowledge.
“Our Landholder Relations team works so well. We really are a day family. We'll go through some awesome stuff and some tough stuff, but we're in it together and no one's role is more important than the other, which I really value. And the care we have for each other and the information we share is invaluable. We’ve got this great, inherent understanding. It’s really, really positive.”
This welcoming culture has seen Kelli take the opportunity to try different roles and expand her skillset and confidence.
“I joined Powerlink as a career Personal Assistant. Then just 6 months in, I became Team Lead of an administrative team before I moved into my current role. Our CEO says, ‘If you've got a great idea, give it a crack!’ The lateral thinking in this place is just phenomenal and I’m grateful for it.”
What this all amounts to is that Kelli is in a job she wants to continue to build on. She says Powerlink is her forever workplace.
“This job - you're rich by the experience it gives you. My thing is: Do what you love and call it work. And it just so happens that I've got the best team. I’m not biased at all, but each one of them is so different yet brings something beautiful to the table.”