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| THE STORY |
COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Now that council elections are coming up I have to ask who in the George Town municipality is worth voting for?
As a country resident I know only one councillor who has stood up for us and fought for our needs. As far as I know the rest of them couldn’t care less.
If they want my vote and those of the rest of the country areas, how about taking the time to visit these areas and discuss their needs and grievances and show they are capable of doing more than just increasing the rates every year. ......................... Malcolm McCulloch, Pipers River.
WHY VOTE IN COUNCIL ELECTIONS?
Bloody good question! The increasing level of disconnects between aldermen/councillors is concerning. It has become more so with the all-in-all-out-four-year-terms that Tasmanian now have been saddled with.
There was a time when you could laugh off say the excesses of Launceston's Robin McKendrick who was so very often quoted as saying, paraphrased, 'we were elected to make decisions let's get on and make them' and 'if they do not like it then they can vote us out.' It's the stuff of legends and it never really passed the pub test.
This world view of local government in Tasmania seems to be as prevalent in George Town, Launceston, Hobart, Southern Midlands as it might be anywhere. However, if you use Launceston as lens that would frighten the pants of kangaroo.
The thing is, frightening the punters into compliance, no matter how absurd, is where we have come to. It all boils down to doing whatever is, being 'done to' the constituency rather than 'for or even with' the people – and at 'Council's convenience' no less.
At $35K a year it seems that is what you get in an alderman. So, it is very much a case of 'being extremely careful about what you wish for' especially when you consider voting for the 'rusted-on crew'.
For example, Launcestonians have been saddled with a $20Million debt that they had no say in. This is outrageous and there is more to come.
Now is the time to tell the 'rusted-ons' around council tables, this merry band of deluded sycophants, that it is time to go spend more time with their families etc. However, when it comes to paying up, being held accountable, the 'rusted-os' will be over the hill and far away along with others around the table who snuck off into darkened rooms to give all this sort of thing a tick.
In the end these 'rusted-ons' just want things to stay just the same. They just want their allowance cheques to keep on being deposited, their fringe benefits to keep on being available, to not really having to worry too much as they give a management recommendations at tick, being able to hide behind confidentiality when things get tough, continuing to be 'seen to being seen' without it interfering with the rust to much.
Therefore, what needs to be done is as some of the smart commentators say these days is "disrupt the status quo". Enough already of the same old, same old! Now let's have some community engagement and then some accountability and transparency.
Each and every ratepayer/resident voting needs to carefully question themselves in regard to how they are voting, why and who for. Then they need to ask the candidates that they are thinking of voting to vote for why they do it. Having done so, they will surely finfd that there is a myriad of reasons for change.
If you look at what's before you and scrape away the bovine dust you will find multiple reasons to vote for change and then for accountability and transparency – truth and justice if you like as they used to say in the comics.
Tandra Vale
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