How refreshing then to see time and money spent so well upon the new retail and office building in front of Dirty Jane’s Emporium.

Hats off to these developers giving Bowral a street façade that’s aesthetic and speaks to the town’s historical architecture.

Now sit back and watch it’s success, testimony to the fact that mostly you get returns in life that’re commensurate with inputs.

Still on the subject of development, I’m reminded of what a councillor told me at a business breakfast a few years ago:

“We should remain mindful, when we develop the Southern Highlands, of all the reasons we love living here.”

A simple criterion one would think for regulatory bodies, developers, and citizens to abide by.

Speaking of councillors, we should by now know who makes up our newly invigorated council.

My imprecation to you all now is – let’s support these people.

Let’s give them respect and breathing space for policies and administration.

People do after all perform at their best when they can do their job without constant fear of being cut off at the knees.

And oh, if we’re going to have any more development soon, please can we have a roundabout at Bendooley and Wingecarribee Streets?

Wingecarribee is always busy with the Police Station and exits from Springetts Arcade and Coles carpark.

It makes equally busy Bendooley Street downright perilous to cross or turn into.

The first councillor who endorses that gets a chocolate Freddo.

See, no critique, just chocolate bribes.

Often works.

I DREAM of a local council election where only candidates and not groups are voted for. 

It seems logical to me.

Vote for the person and what they stand for.

Assume that as grown ups they can work together with other grown ups to represent the ratepayers and help the shire more forward in a positive manner.

But now back to the reality nightmare.

No doubt there are many people out there for various reasons, many of them vested interests in simply getting their own way and being in charge disagree with my ‘dream’.

They may claim that by having groups and preferences that they can choose who they can work with.

(But if their primary school child came home and said they didn’t want to be in the same group as someone else for a sporting team or school assignment they would be told that they need to try to get along with people.)

Out of curiosity I looked up the NSW Electoral Commission Virtual Tally Room. 

At 4.44pm September 13 when nearly 29,000 of the potential 36,000 votes were counted I looked for those who were given first preference as individuals and not groups.

The results were:

Duncan Gair 4.65%

Ken Halstead 3.36%

Larry Whipper 2.73%

Cristian King 2.43%

Grahame Andrews 2.05%

Edna Carmichael 2.01%

Graham McLaughlin 1.99%

Ian Scandrett 1.56%

Julia Salter 1.34%

A very different result indeed.

I hope that we don’t have a repeat of the last four years.

However, I fear with what appears to be the final make up of council we have little to look forward to.