Stephen J Milne

I was born in Sydney, and raised in the suburb of Botany (the City of Botany Bay), and now live with my wife of 36 years in Grafton NSW. My four children have grown up and have families of their own in Grafton, Sydney and Brisbane. I am grateful still for my high school teachers who instilled in me a lifetime love of learning, but I still grew restless at school, and left before my HSC to experience "the real world". After leaving High School I pursued the trade of Motor Mechanic, working through a low paid apprenticeship, with training Sydney Technical College in Ultimo for four years. After moving to Grafton I continued my trade studies at Grafton Campus of TAFE, with a trip back to Sydney to gain LPG Mechanics credentials. I completed post-trade training in diesel, air-conditioning, vehicle inspection, post-trade tune-up and electrical, dozens of training schools in specialised products.

I was a Motor Mechanic for over twenty years, many times in the position of leading hand or workshop foreman. A workplace injury meant that I could no longer pursue my trade, so change was forced upon me. To retrain I enrolled in several courses of study at Grafton TAFE, OTEN and Community College. I trained and worked in several different areas, Office Administration, TAFE Teacher and Computer Support. I realised that I had a passion to help people so, late in life, I started a career in Community Service and an accompanying academic career. I enrolled in Charles Sturt University where I completed an undergraduate degree in Social Science (SocWel). Personal interest and community need saw me complete a Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Practice through the University of New England, where I am now studying for a Graduate Diploma in Counselling. I happily work part-time as a Project Officer (Community Worker) in a local neighbourhood centre in a depressed socio-economic area where a diversity of people can access computers and internet for free, see a counsellor, get Legal Aid, get Financial Counselling, have a free lunch, and receive information about, and referral to a range of services.