THE 32nd president of the United States, Franklin D Roosevelt once said “let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a president and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.”
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Sadly this is a philosophy that seems to be lost within our own community on occasions and Wednesday night’s Ordinary Meeting of Wingecarribee Council was a sign of the loss of that democratic system.
The matter-of-disruption in question regarded a motion by councillors adopted on July 24, 2012, to delegate the general manager authority to pursue prosecution of the landowners and/or any other person found to be involved in relation to the unauthorised removal of trees on Lots 11, 12 and 4 Range Rd, Mittagong. A motion was put to Wednesday’s meeting to enforce the 2012 decision.
However, a decision to move the matter into a private meeting resulted in uproar from many seated in the public gallery.
Without a doubt the disruptive behaviour from some members of the gallery was counter-productive with the meeting ultimately being suspended. But the question has to be asked: are these members not simply demonstrating their frustrations about the loss of a democratic process?
Are they not simply acting out in frustration and concern that the nine elected councillors are at times failing to act with a majority rule, not simply a majority within their ranks but a majority within the entire community. Are they not acting out in anger because they feel they are not being heard?
Our councillors need at all times to represent the thoughts and beliefs of some 45,000 residents of this shire.
Clearly a decision to take things into private meetings to protect the integrity and reputation of people is understandable. It is a time for them to debate the matter without disruption from the broader community.
However, any debate in private should take into consideration the expectations, thoughts and preferences of the broader community and the decision should ultimately be made public.
The role of a councillor will always be challenging - pleasing all the people all the time is a near impossibility, but our councillors must remember the definition of their role under the NSW Local Government Act. The Act states that the role of a councillor is, as an elected person:
• to represent the interests of the residents and ratepayers;
• to provide leadership and guidance to the community;
• to facilitate communication between the community and the council.
