( Me at my place )
I am coming out and proudly declaring the following:
1. I am an Aussie white bloke of European decent!
The Walrus and the Carpenter.
However people the Walrus might say that the time has come to talk about Council
or Shires as they can be referred too ( Local government ) elections, well in my home
state of NSW anyway, where every (4) years on the second Saturday in September,
and by my calculation this year 2016 it will be Saturday the 10/9/2016, where we
either elect or re-elect our council members.
Now for my 100's of overseas readers, and maybe many of my Aussie readers as
well, I believe I should try and some what briefly explain how our Council ( Local
government ) system and it's functions operate.
There are some 560 local government bodies in Aussie covering various
metropolitan, regional, rural, and Indigenous communities of these there are some
539 regional/rural.
With about 10, or less, councillors per council it is estimated there are some 6,000
Even though Councils in Aussie are I believe the " Peoples true Parliament " in
this over governed country of ours where the Councils are the political,
administrative and the social cohesion/continuity front line on a daily basis with
the average Aussie plebbs,as compared to the "Talk fest bunch of out of touch
show ponies " in their sanitised rarified air Canberra Ivory Towers in regard to
our Federal pollies, and their side kicks the very costly and " Superfluous " to
the needs/requirements of the Aussie population State government, especially
considering modern technology with computerisation, and virtual instant two way
communications with real time visual, that basically more times than not just
duplicates the Federal and Local ( Councils ) governments in numerous ways, to
many to go into here, yet the councils are not recognised in the Aussie Constitution
and operate under the umbrella of the State Parliaments legislation and as such in
theory do not exist in their own right.
Paul Toole MP the current
NSW Local Government Minister.
Therefore as the councils are administered under the NSW State Legislation it is
The number of voters enrolled in each council boundaries, electorates or wards if a
council is a " Divided " one where Councillors are allocated a specific area referred to
as " Wards " or an " Undivided " one where the Councillors are elected as a whole,
would vary greatly and be some where in the region of a 1000 to more than 150,000
voters per boundary,electorate or collective wards.
1. I am an Aussie white bloke of European decent!
2. I am heterosexual!
3. Although not religious I tend to believe in the so-called
Christian values and beliefs!
Sir Mike's Comments 20/7/2016.
Also on my blog: www.beautkoot.blogspot.com.au
www.wordpress.com.
URL: http://beautkoot.blogspot.com.au
Subject: " Councils - The Peoples Parliament ".
Sir Mike's Comments 20/7/2016.
Also on my blog: www.beautkoot.blogspot.com.au
www.wordpress.com.
URL: http://beautkoot.blogspot.com.au
Subject: " Councils - The Peoples Parliament ".
The Walrus and the Carpenter.
By John Tenniel and from Wikipedia, The free Encyclopedia.
Quote from " Through the Looking Glass " a poem then a book by Lewis Carroll.
" The time has come " the Walrus said " to talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages - and Kings - and why the
Quote from " Through the Looking Glass " a poem then a book by Lewis Carroll.
" The time has come " the Walrus said " to talk of many things:
Of shoes - and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages - and Kings - and why the
sea is boiling hot - and whether pigs have wings
"
Unquote.
Which I believe people sums up this over governed country of Aussie and our
political system to a ' T '! where our amateur pollies at all (3) levels seem to take
the country one step forward and because of political self interest, the lack of
" Intestinal Fortitude " i.e.; " Guts " plus the insincere, hollow, unaffordable
promises made at election times take us back (6) steps, and where the average
Aussie plebb finds it increasingly hard to cope, financially, emotionally and the lack
of confidence for the future.
Unquote.
Which I believe people sums up this over governed country of Aussie and our
political system to a ' T '! where our amateur pollies at all (3) levels seem to take
the country one step forward and because of political self interest, the lack of
" Intestinal Fortitude " i.e.; " Guts " plus the insincere, hollow, unaffordable
promises made at election times take us back (6) steps, and where the average
Aussie plebb finds it increasingly hard to cope, financially, emotionally and the lack
of confidence for the future.
However people the Walrus might say that the time has come to talk about Council
or Shires as they can be referred too ( Local government ) elections, well in my home
state of NSW anyway, where every (4) years on the second Saturday in September,
and by my calculation this year 2016 it will be Saturday the 10/9/2016, where we
either elect or re-elect our council members.
Now for my 100's of overseas readers, and maybe many of my Aussie readers as
well, I believe I should try and some what briefly explain how our Council ( Local
government ) system and it's functions operate.
There are some 560 local government bodies in Aussie covering various
metropolitan, regional, rural, and Indigenous communities of these there are some
539 regional/rural.
With about 10, or less, councillors per council it is estimated there are some 6,000
Councillors in Aussie.
Even though Councils in Aussie are I believe the " Peoples true Parliament " in
this over governed country of ours where the Councils are the political,
administrative and the social cohesion/continuity front line on a daily basis with
the average Aussie plebbs,as compared to the "Talk fest bunch of out of touch
show ponies " in their sanitised rarified air Canberra Ivory Towers in regard to
our Federal pollies, and their side kicks the very costly and " Superfluous " to
the needs/requirements of the Aussie population State government, especially
considering modern technology with computerisation, and virtual instant two way
communications with real time visual, that basically more times than not just
duplicates the Federal and Local ( Councils ) governments in numerous ways, to
many to go into here, yet the councils are not recognised in the Aussie Constitution
and operate under the umbrella of the State Parliaments legislation and as such in
theory do not exist in their own right.
Therefore as the councils are administered under the NSW State Legislation it is
possible that under the Local Government Act 1989 the Minister currently
Paul
Toole can in serious extenuating circumstances where a council is proving
to
be corrupt, inefficient, ineffective and incapable of showing good
governance
and duty of care can be dismissed by the Minister and an Administrator
appointed,
until such time that new elections can take place to replace the current
Councillors.
The Minister, as is currently the case, can dismiss a duly elected Council if he and
The Minister, as is currently the case, can dismiss a duly elected Council if he and
the State Government at the time believe that it is in the States interest
to
amalgamate councils for whatever reason, and where this is happening to I
gather
some 42 councils which are being reduced to 19 councils in NSW currently
where
Administrators have been appointed overseeing the amalgamations, not a popular
situation with many 1000's of voters I gather.
Voting in NSW elections is compulsory and has been since 1928, which I believe is a
very good thing, because it get's people involved in politics some what before they
Administrators have been appointed overseeing the amalgamations, not a popular
situation with many 1000's of voters I gather.
Voting in NSW elections is compulsory and has been since 1928, which I believe is a
very good thing, because it get's people involved in politics some what before they
go into the polling booth because they are expected to tick various boxes
and elect
various candidates, plus it get's the bastards out of bed on election day,
and if they
don't vote they get a $50.00 fine and if they don't pay the fine they could
find
themselves in court with a considerable increased fine or at least the cancelation of
themselves in court with a considerable increased fine or at least the cancelation of
their vehicle NSW registration, making it illegal to drive on the NSW
roads until the
fine is paid, thereby negating their vehicle insurance should they have an accident.
I gather when the fine and possible court costs are paid you will have to re-register
fine is paid, thereby negating their vehicle insurance should they have an accident.
I gather when the fine and possible court costs are paid you will have to re-register
your vehicle, which means it going over the pits for a thorough vehicle
inspection
which incurs an inspection fee and if the vehicle fails the inspection it will have
which incurs an inspection fee and if the vehicle fails the inspection it will have
to be fixed and another inspection plus another fee, plus re-registration
of the
vehicle, and it is estimated you will not get much change out of a $1000.00 - much
cheaper to vote ? what do you reckon.
There were I gather 152 councils in NSW, however with various council
amalgamations recently this figure could have changed,
Example - 152 - 42 = 110 + 19 = 129
employing some 50,000 people and an estimated 1500 Councillors spending some
$9 - $11 billion dollars PA of tax/rate payers funds either collected directly or via the
State and Federal government in the way of grants and loans, with $90 - $100 billion
in assets and infrastructure.
vehicle, and it is estimated you will not get much change out of a $1000.00 - much
cheaper to vote ? what do you reckon.
There were I gather 152 councils in NSW, however with various council
amalgamations recently this figure could have changed,
Example - 152 - 42 = 110 + 19 = 129
employing some 50,000 people and an estimated 1500 Councillors spending some
$9 - $11 billion dollars PA of tax/rate payers funds either collected directly or via the
State and Federal government in the way of grants and loans, with $90 - $100 billion
in assets and infrastructure.
The number of voters enrolled in each council boundaries, electorates or wards if a
council is a " Divided " one where Councillors are allocated a specific area referred to
as " Wards " or an " Undivided " one where the Councillors are elected as a whole,
would vary greatly and be some where in the region of a 1000 to more than 150,000
voters per boundary,electorate or collective wards.
Councillors are elected on what is referred to as " Proportional " voting where the
voters have a list of applicants which the voters number in order of preference and
the councillors that get the most votes after the primary and preference votes are
counted win the the seats/positions.
The council is usually made up of between 5 and 15 councillors depending on the
size of the municipality or council area, consisting of a Mayor, sometimes
a Deputy
Mayor plus councillors.
The Mayor can be either, as a result of an electorate referendum, elected by the
popular vote where upon he or she serves a 4 year term as the Mayor, or by the
vote of the other elected councillors which means the Mayor only serves 1 year
terms and has to be, or not, re-elected every year of the 4 year term of council.
Mayor plus councillors.
The Mayor can be either, as a result of an electorate referendum, elected by the
popular vote where upon he or she serves a 4 year term as the Mayor, or by the
vote of the other elected councillors which means the Mayor only serves 1 year
terms and has to be, or not, re-elected every year of the 4 year term of council.
In July 1993 the NSW Local Government Act was changed to define the
responsibilities of the Mayor and Councillors and separated the functions much
more clearly from them and those of the General Manager and his administration.
Therefore although the GM, or I gather could be called the Chief Executive Officer,
does answer to the council for the overall implementation of the councils goals and
strategies, managing the delivery of municipal services and providing professional
advice together with support, this role is not I gather set out in the Local Government
Act of 1989 which I believe leaves this open to interpretation, especially as I gather
that in most cases the council senior staff are on performance based contracts ? so
based on what criteria?.
Now although the Local Government Act 1989 does not appear to specify the exact
roles the Councillors can be judged by, it does state that they must adhere
to some
vague, in my view, " Standards of good conduct " whatever that means, and from
vague, in my view, " Standards of good conduct " whatever that means, and from
my experience would be a lawyers meal ticket should there be a case for "
Wrongful
Dismissal ".
Now I believe contrary to popular opinion amongst voters/constituents, that if a
Now I believe contrary to popular opinion amongst voters/constituents, that if a
constituent complained to their Councillor about a certain problem they
were having
the Councillor concerned had the authority to ensure the problem was
remedied.
Well seemingly not, because the Councillors legal authority under the Act 1989 only
exist when participating as a member of the council while in a formal council meeting,
therefore anything outside the council meeting individual councillors have no such
Well seemingly not, because the Councillors legal authority under the Act 1989 only
exist when participating as a member of the council while in a formal council meeting,
therefore anything outside the council meeting individual councillors have no such
authority especially in regard to the day to day operation of the
council.
Therefore if any of the candidates coming up for election to the Council on
September Saturday the 10/9/2016 say vote for me and I will make XYZ changes for
the better bear in mind the following:
1. There will not be any changes unless that Councillor can get the majority of the
other Councillors to vote for it.
2. Or they can convince, not order or insist, the GM and his administration to adopt
the Councilors requests and/or suggestions.
As I see it generally it would appear Councillors have what I would refer to from the
private sector point of view a " Head Office " function:
Strategic planning,Sustainable future,Budgetary financial strategy and allocating
resources, managing community assets, liaising with all levels of both government
and non-government plus community groups and the private sector generally, but
more importantly managing the relationship with the council GM and his
various
levels and a some what complex professional administration to the benefit of the
levels and a some what complex professional administration to the benefit of the
councils rate payers,residents and constituents.
The Mayor as outlined in section 73 of the Local Government Act 1989 has many
The Mayor as outlined in section 73 of the Local Government Act 1989 has many
roles to play both legislative and functional, and must take precedence at
all
municipal proceedings within the municipality and take the chair at all
council
meetings that he or she attends.
meetings that he or she attends.
Being Mayor involves additional responsibilities as the councils spokesperson,
leadership, modeling good governance and duty of care together with significant
ceremonial events, including citizenship ceremonies.
Unlike the Federal and State parliaments the Mayor is not a Premier or PM where
the person is the head of a political party, although there are individual councilors
that consider themselves and run under the banner of either Labor, Liberal,
National Party, Green or independent and as a consequence the Mayor is
accountable to all the Councillors, and their leadership must reflect this and
ensure that all Councilors have the opportunity to be heard without bias, because
this could mean the difference between getting very controversial and difficult
decisions through the Council without to much residual bad feelings after the final
majority vote.
This is why I believe Local government ( councils, shires ) are the true " Peoples
Parliament and Democratic government " unlike the show ponies in the State
and
Federal governments who are constantly grabbing the media headlines based
on
personal political and/or their parties self interests.
Now unlike our over paid low productivity State and Federal pollies, because rarely
do any of them individually achieve anything of great consequence, Councilors
under the Local Government Act 1993 are entitled to fees for serving their
constituents.
Now unlike our over paid low productivity State and Federal pollies, because rarely
do any of them individually achieve anything of great consequence, Councilors
under the Local Government Act 1993 are entitled to fees for serving their
constituents.
The fees are paid monthly and depending on the size of the council, the number of
people it serves and the assets it manages the fees could range from say
$10,000
PA for a small council up to say $35,000 PA for a large metropolitan council.
PA for a small council up to say $35,000 PA for a large metropolitan council.
These fees maybe withheld if the Councillor does not attend council meetings for
more than three months or who are suspended from council for some reason.
In addition Councillors are entitled to claim a range of expenses while carrying out
their duties for : travel to and from meetings, to conferences and training,telephone
expenses, conferences and accommodation, meals and refreshments,internet use
and child care associated with council duties.
Councillors may also be provided with computers, fax machines, mobile phones,
stationery and secretarial assistance.
All these fees and entitlements are supposed to be reviewed by the council on an
annual bases and adjusted in accordance with the costs at that particular time, or
if the council is having serious financial difficulty's in fairness to the rate payers
they may have to reduce the fees and entitlements ? Yeah right, and as the saying
goes " Pigs might fly if they weren't so fat ".
All these fees and entitlements are supposed to be reviewed by the council on an
annual bases and adjusted in accordance with the costs at that particular time, or
if the council is having serious financial difficulty's in fairness to the rate payers
they may have to reduce the fees and entitlements ? Yeah right, and as the saying
goes " Pigs might fly if they weren't so fat ".
Now having said all these lovely things about Local governments ( Councils,Shires )
there is always a " But " or a " However " ain't there so here
goes:
I know from experience after living in the NSW Blue Mountains and therefore the
Sydney Western suburbs for some 40 years plus, and in my past life, now 76 years
old, travelling over NSW, visiting Victoria and Queensland, in a marketing/sales role
that of all the three levels of this over governed country of ours, Local
government
can be the most corrupt, inefficient, ineffective, apathetic, draconian, oppressive,
can be the most corrupt, inefficient, ineffective, apathetic, draconian, oppressive,
authoritarian - and I could go on but I guess you get the message - with a
bunch of
little " Hitler " inspectors and bureaucrats that are amazed they can't
walk on water
like " Jesus " did they are so full of their own importance.
I have personally known very wealthy land developers plus very doggie corrupt
Real Estate Agents - the old saying that if you can't sell used cars become a Real
Estate Agent - run on a combined ticket for the local council elections,
preferencing
just one of them to ensure a better chance of at least one of them getting on this
just one of them to ensure a better chance of at least one of them getting on this
council, it work twice to my knowledge, so they could get inside
information and
establish future zoning so they could collectively purchase land in those areas,
establish future zoning so they could collectively purchase land in those areas,
which they did, and in a matter of a few years when the zoning was changed
they
all made a huge fortune!! they made a career out of it all over Aussie for
decades.
However two of them died a few years ago and they reckon it was the extreme
effort they made in lifting all those bags of cash money around, the tax
man never
got anywhere near what he was due, that brought on a premature death ?
what
a shame ? I bet their looking up from old " Nicks " place spitting chips
watching
all those free loaders pissing all their ill gotten money up against the
wall??
Another area of corruption is where Councillors, most own their own businesses
or are involved with some enterprise or other and/or belong to the like's
of the
" Freemasons " use their position and influence to better themselves or their
mates financially from inside information, and which might involve bribing or at
least giving inducements to Council Administration Staff at various levels.
" Freemasons " use their position and influence to better themselves or their
mates financially from inside information, and which might involve bribing or at
least giving inducements to Council Administration Staff at various levels.
Being such a compact situation compared to the large State and Federal
governments set up it is far easier at a Local Government level to " Work a point "
as I believe the term is expressed.
Anyway people make sure it is foremost in your mind when you go to the NSW
Council Elections on Saturday the 10/9/2016, that either way you are
electing a
politician, many of which use becoming a Councillor as a stepping stone to
becoming a State or Federal pollie, and therefore if you take your eye of
the
political ball and elect what turns out to be the wrong Councillor, then
don't
whinge because the decision you make in a democracy is entirely yours
and
something, barring some unforeseen circumstances, you have to live with
for
the next four years!!!
Sir Mike Howe - but you can call me Mike.
