2016 council election
This was not a well run election for several reasons, involving lack of communication by the Electoral Commission as to an election being held; combined with little opportunity for the public and candidates to gain enough information to lead to an informed vote; and this combined with a political campaign by Allen’s group of eight misinforming the public on council’s finances and building purchases, left people with the need to vote based on poor and misleading information.
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Another result is the entry of political parties into local government here with Greens, Country Labor and the general Liberal support for the group of eight including grudges on squash courts, a marina and an equestrian centre all of which are not within council’s present agenda.
A comment on public perception is that the lack of community knowledge of councillors and issues appears to confirm the public are not adequately or correctly informed in the media for a variety of reasons.
There is and has been a significant cost to everyone, including myself, in putting out misinformation bush fires.
I will be interested to hear some councillors take the new oath of office to "undertake duties in the best interest of the shire and faithfully and impartially carry out functions etc under the Act" , and to see how they perform in the next four years given the way they campaigned by undermining what has been a council working in a difficult time to deliver services across the board and grow our economy for the businesses in our area, given less than 12,000 people out of 34,000 are in employment.
It's a very fine line between a good functioning council and a dysfunctional council and depends on the ability of councillors to absorb information and make rational and often difficult decisions without pursuing their own agenda.
The last council has achieved more than any other council in recent times and I am proud to have led and been part of it.