Big questions for Tasmania are starting to float to the surface!

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On the face of it this story talks about Hobart and Glenorchy city councils are getting together in some sort of shared step forward and shared vision for the disused rail corridor. BUT, the State Government recently said "light rail was off the table". 

Undeterred Hobart has joined up with Glenorchy and has signed off on ia $150,000 consult­ancy to: 

• Look at areas that would benefit from development within the catchments; and
• proposed stopping points for a public transit system.

After Infrastructure Tasmania's report into the viability of a light rail system, Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding, said that government would work with Hobart and Glenorchy councils to develop an understanding of "land-use planning and rezoning issues for commercial and residential opportunities adjacent to the rail corridor"

But this is Federal election year and there is the smell of Federal money in the air even when the PM seems to be say do not expect too much.... or in fact anything at all.

Clearly the "Tasmanian Cargo Cult" often talked about is firing up enthusiasms for all sorts of follies. This notion that Federal money, or even Sate money,  is "new money" or "different money" has to be called to account. The council functionaries promote this idea as it tends to help them build their empires, feed their council's salary accounts and build council superannuation liabilities.

These "consultancies" into almost anything at all are getting out of hand just like empire building in Local government has in Tasmania. Who is on these gravy trains and what are their dividends?

Taxpayers and ratepayers need to unite and call a stop to the nonsense. The money these consultants whisk away for little or no result is getting out of hand. It reflects upon the competence of Councils. That is both the elected representatives and the functionaries that seem to take a lot of oil to get their wheels turning.... and that's turning not spinning.

The gene-pool that local government has to draw upon is almost microscopic given the number of councils and the number functionaries sitting about watching a few of their underlings do something.

If we need consultants to provide the skills and expertise why are these functionaries employed at all when there are, it seems, people in consultancies with the skills we really need? Nobody seems to be game enough ask this kind of question.

Meanwhile in marginal Bass/Launceston council is out and about seeing what might bring "outside money" into their operation to grow the pie even if the city is about the same size it has been for a long time and arguably is shrinking.

The "City Heart" project in Launceston has all the sign posts that point to mismanagement and and some rather self serving and somewhat odd belief systems telling people strange things.

Yes the project is "fully funded" by the council, well actually the ratepayers, on the presumption that more will fly in from Canberra in an election year. Which consultant told what functionary that was the way to go?

This sort thinking is not the sort of thing council functionaries want to think about. It's probably not what people selling their skills as consultants want to hear either. However, anyone doing real work on real problems will always find a real place in the real world.

It is time to look for better and more effective ways to deal with community issues. Councils on the Cargo Cult drip-feed need a shake up, in fact a huge percentage of them need to be as they say "gotten rid of".... but that's another story for another day.