The debutants make up two thirds of Orange's elected representatives for the term ending September 2024 and while there might be conflict along the way, the general vibe among the incumbent councillors is positivity and unity.

Cr Jeff Whitton, with incoming Mayor Jason Hamling and Cr Kevin Duffy, make up the elder statesmen of the new chamber while Cr Tony Mileto is entering his second term.

Cr Whitton, who was elected to his first term with Cr Hamling in 2004, said the diversity of the incoming group coupled with a new mayor called for a unified approach.

"Out of the five times I've been elected, other than the first time ... out of all of the councils I've been on I'm really looking forward to this one the most," Cr Whitton said.

Three women, Tammy Greenhalgh, Frances Kinghorne and Mel McDonell have joined Orange's first indigenous councillor, Gerald Power as newcomers, while Dr Steven Peterson, Dr David Mallard, Glenn Floyd and Jack Evans, who at 24 is believed to be Orange's youngest representative on council, are the new faces.

Cr Whitton said the 'unknown' of a popularly-elected mayor after years of the chamber electing the city's head of government was a learning experience for everyone involved in the last council term which was headed by Reg Kidd as mayor.

Cr Whitton believes the public election took away a large amount of the position's engagement with the remaining 11 councillors, who had previously voted each year on the leadership, and placed it firmly in the public domain.

He believed that would change this year with Cr Hamling balancing the mayor's job with his business and a teenage family.

That was also the sentiment of Cr Mileto, who ran second to Cr Hamling in the mayoral poll.

"Jason will have his own style," Cr Mileto said saying the pair had several conversations during polling.

"Obviously we were quite competitive against each other but there was a commitment between us that regardless of who became mayor, the other would be supportive.

"I have no reason to change that. It's important for council that we give Jason all the support that he requires to have council run effectively and that's what I will do."

Both Cr Whitton and Cr Mileto said their door was open to the newcomers with the latter saying he'd already had a few conversations.

"To me they demonstrate a willingness to familiarise themselves with local government, rules, regulations and procedures and I think that's very important. I'm happy to share, if it helps them.

"Regardless of the position I hold on council I'm always prepared to help others to make council run as fluently as we can."

Cr Whitton said he had an appreciation of what it was like to sit on council for the first time and said he was grateful his first seat was next to a former mayor in Dick Niven while John Davis, the former Blayney mayor who transitioned to the position in Orange, was also on his first panel.

"We all have a single vote which is very important on the issues we're deliberating but at the end of the day, council is very simple. Get the basics right and everything else works well and the basics are what the expectations of the community are.

"The pitfalls are if you get caught up emotionally in issues that come before council. And we all do. We all live here, we go to sporting events, our children grow up together, everybody knows everybody.

"You've got to walk the line between both sides of an argument and you're then left with the decision-making powers with your vote and that can be at times very confronting and put a lot of pressure on you.

"Some days the community will love you, and some days they will want to ... learn not to take things personally.

"Become thick-skinned, it's the institution, not you personally, it's the matter at hand that (residents) are frustrated with, not you."

Cr Duffy, who has two terms on Orange under his belt but previously served on Cabonne for 10 years, several as mayor, was more blunt in his advice.

"Leave your party politics at the door," he said.

"[Former councillor] Glenn Taylor was the perfect example, he was a staunch Labor man but he never brought it into the chamber, he had no vested interests."

Cr Duffy said he believes it would take the best part of the term for the newcomers to find their feet ("It's like teaching someone to swim if they've never swum before") but Cr Whitton and Mileto believed things would be running smoothly in a couple of months.

The incoming council will have an induction and training on January 27 and 28 while the first council meeting is on February 1 at which the deputy mayor and chairs of the various committees will be elected.

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