AS you would have read in the pages of this week’s Bunyip, beloved councillor and community advocate Ethan White has decided to part ways with council.
The start of 2026 is truly one for the record books in terms of sentences we never thought we’d say.
But here we are, suddenly taking a look back at his time on council since he joined at just 20 years old in 2022.
As someone his own age, seeing a young person from the north step up to a role of leadership has been exciting, and I believe has triggered hope in the minds of other young people across the north.
Alongside fellow councillor Isaac Solomon, the pair have stepped out of the mould of what we think a councilor looks and sounds like.
We have seen, maybe for the first time in a while, issues directly affecting young people and their families finally come to the forefront of decision making.
As a young, queer person myself, seeing a council from an area which has, historically, not been the most liberal of places discussing LGBT+ issues, women’s health and youth wellbeing has been liberating.
And now in some of his last words as councillor to The Bunyip, Ethan has called for more diversity, to “ensure that all voices can have a seat at the table”.
Looking at other councils such as Playford, which has an equal number of women, men, and culturally diverse voices, Gawler has again, historically, been lacking voices that genuinely represent the whole community.
I can only hope that Ethan’s legacy in the north will come in the form of encouragement to other young people that it is possible to stand up in a room of people double our age and fight for what we believe in.
Here’s to change in every positive way.
