Cr Des Hudson OAM

Cr Des Hudson was elected as Councillor for the Sebastopol ward in October 2024. It is his seventh term on Council having continuously served on Council since 2002. He is currently the longest serving councillor for the City of Ballarat post council amalgamations. Cr Hudson also served as Mayor in 2015/16, 2022/23 and 2023/24, and was Deputy Mayor in 2008/09 and 2013/14.

Cr Hudson was born in Ballarat and has lived in Ballarat for 50 years, with only a few years living in Melbourne due to work. He grew up in Sebastopol and attended St James Primary and Sebastopol College. Cr Hudson also played soccer for Sebastopol Vikings and cricket for Sebastopol.

He loves that Ballarat is a place that you can choose to live your entire life. The city is large enough to provide a wide variety of opportunities, but small enough to allow you to look out for and take care of each other. Cr Hudson believes the community of Ballarat is very compassionate and generous.

Cr Hudson’s focus for the 2024-2028 Council Term is on continuing to position Ballarat as one of the best regional cities within Australia and to promote Ballarat as a welcoming city for everyone. He also seeks to continue building on the successes of the previous council term, with significant infrastructure upgrades that will benefit the community for decades to come.

He has 35 years of service with Victoria Police primarily working in community engagement as a Youth Resource Officer. Cr Hudson is a recipient of the Victoria Police Ethical Standards Medal, the National Medal 3rd Clasp, the National Police Medal and he was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 2019 for service to the community. He is also a Paul Harris Fellow and was awarded the title of Mayor Emeritus from the Municipal Association of Victoria for serving three full terms as Mayor.

Cr Hudson has been the Chairperson of the Ballarat & District Suicide Awareness Network since 2011 and is the Chairperson and Coordinator of Ballarat Blue Light Youth Events since 2010.

He is married to Anne and has two daughters, Emily and Molly. In Cr Hudson’s spare time, he enjoys cooking, fishing, playing golf, camping, theatre, and enjoys exploring new places and restaurants.

• Community Impact Grant Allocation Delegated Committee
• Planning Delegated Committee
• City Partnerships Delegated Committee
• Sebastopol RSL Hall Community Asset Committee
• Coghill’s Creek/Glendaruel Cemetery
• Learmonth Cemetery
• Ballarat Major Events Precinct Stakeholder Reference Group
• Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Advisory Committee
• Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility Advisory Committee
• Art Gallery of Ballarat Board 

Cr Des Hudson OAM
Email: deshudson@ballarat.vic.gov.au
Phone: 0409 865 093