The Smaakpolitie

“As a child, I used to dream that I worked in a luxury resort somewhere on a beautiful island. But Australia? No, I wasn’t thinking about that at all. I wasn’t really happy in my job in Amsterdam anymore. I worked in a hotel, mainly organising events, but my goal was actually to become a general manager. To do that, I needed more front office experience, so in 2016 the idea came up to travel and work in Australia. In two years’ time, I gained experience in various hotels Down Under.”

The plan was to return to the Netherlands, but that hasn’t happened to date. Dorien emigrated in 2018 and has built a life in Colac, a city 150 kilometres from Melbourne. She has a five-year-old son and works as an Environmental Health Officer for the Colac Otway Shire Council.

Bubble

“I worked as front office manager at a hotel by the seaside for quite some time, in a beautiful beach town on the Great Ocean Road. A bit like that dream you were just talking about. But then Covid came, and the dream burst like a bubble. I was stuck at home for seven months. And I mean really stuck at home. The lockdowns were super strict here. We were only allowed to go outside for a bit of exercise, but we had to stay close to home, even though our neighbours live a few kilometres away!”

“Eventually, I could start working at the hotel again, but I didn’t enjoy it anymore. Many new rules, much paperwork, I no longer found it interesting. Then I got working in a front office position at the local council, which save me a lot of travel time, very handy when you’re a single parent. After 18 months there was a job opening in Health Protection. I started in support because not everyone can just call themselves an Environmental Health Officer. You must complete a specific post-graduate degree first.”

Food safe

“In that support role, I conducted inspections at hotels and restaurant kitchens. The lessons I learned during my bachelor’s in Hotel Management came in handy. We learned about hygiene, working with different cutting boards, and kitchen design. I still use the latter in my work today. If someone is renovating a building to turn it into a restaurant, I check to see if everything is food safe.”

“Emergency Management was also a course. During my studies, I worked on a project in which we looked at risks for a hotel on an island. What to do with our guests when a hurricane hits? Arrange emergency accommodation, food, situations that are very relevant here in Australia. In the event of a forest fire, people need to be evacuated, given a safe place to stay, and food. People want to help by bringing food they have prepared themselves, but we cannot accept this for safety reasons.” 

Tattoo

“It’s very interesting subject matter. My goal was to qualify as an Environmental Health Officer. I used the Covid period to start a master’s programme in Public Health. Everything in my job is focused on preventing people from getting ill. Whether that’s through poor water quality, food poisoning, or getting a tattoo done unsafely. Inspections are very strict here. That makes sense. You don't have as many schools here as you do in the Netherlands, hotel schools or whatever. So people who want to start a business here don't have as much knowledge.”

Work boots

“What I like about my job is that it’s extremely varied. One morning I might be inspecting a kitchen, and after that, do some paperwork in the office, and in the afternoon, I might be putting on my work boots and my orange safety jacket to check a waste water system on site. We live in an enormously vast area here and not all houses are connected to the sewer system. Technically speaking, this means that something has to be installed to regulate the drainage properly, so that it doesn’t pose a risk to people or the environment. I also check the water quality at regular intervals, for example, in Lake Colac in connection with the safety for recreation.”

“It took me a few years to learn everything, and I’m still very happy with this job. I have a lot of freedom, and can really make a difference to people. That’s my goal, to make people happy. That was once my reason to opt for the hotelschool. And be honest, it’s a wonderful place. People travel from the other side of the world to come here for the rainforest, the beaches, the waterfalls. Why would I want to leave!?”

Challenges

“What’s more, there are still plenty of challenges ahead. We’re behind the times. We have 27 million people living in a vast country. They don’t come and collect your garbage here every week, so some people burn or burry it themselves. More and more is being done in the field of waste separation and sustainability, but it isn’t particularly innovative yet.”

“My goal for now is to complete my master’s in Public Health, which I’m currently halfway through. I’m thinking about working for the Red Cross at some point, contributing to public health in, for instance, war zones, or perhaps doing something for the Aboriginal Community here. However, that’s for later, when my son is older. For now, I’m completely happy with the Smaakpolitie, as my Dutch friends here sometimes jokingly refer to it!”