On brink of a new era, careful choices needed
ONE year, two months and four days.
That is the amount of time that’s passed since the City of Greater Geelong officially had councillors or a mayor, following a scathing Commission of Inquiry report sparked by Geelong Advertiser investigations that led to a comprehensive clean-out by the State Government.
Administrators were appointed and have been at the helm ever since, sent in to steady the ship and nullify the documented “serious governance failures” that had ultimately spelled the downfall of the then publicly elected representatives.
This week, we gained a clearer picture of how our local government electorate will shape up following a proposed return to the polls on October 28.
There will be 11 councillors b chosen from four wards with both the mayor and deputy selected by their peers for a two-year term.
But it’s been an intriguing rollercoaster over the past 430 days, both for the region’s ratepayers who have missed a recognisable face to approach for local issues, and presumably also for those who continue to forge a career path inside the council halls.
“I have a very strong commitment to and reputation for good community engagement and I don’t think you can have an effective strategy for the city unless you’ve got the community behind it,” incoming chief administrator Kathy Alexander said upon her appointment back in May 2016.
Many community members seemed to agree with Dr Alexander’s words, as they have often pushed hard to ensure their voices did not get lost in important council decisions, be they library and saleyard closures, land sales or other matters.
Many of us in the media have followed this unfamiliar state of flux with extra intrigue, knowing that our job of critically analysing and reporting on council-related issues has arguably been more important than ever.
With the impending election day deadline, several former councillors have publicly stated intentions to throw their hats back into the ring, but there has also been calls from some — including Western Victoria MP Simon Ramsey — for an entirely new makeup.
“My hope is that we will get a good field of fresh faces to stand for seats on the new council, candidates who have at heart the best interests of the community they want to represent rather than the selfinterest that had plagued our council for many years,” Mr Ramsey said recently.
On one hand, a seat on Geelong council might be viewed as a once-poisoned chalice, with the expectation that a magnifying glass — at least one with an Addy logo on it — will be following their every move from day one.
Or candidates could relish the opportunity to move forward with a clean slate and not allow the mistakes of some predecessors to haunt them.
All I can say on my departure is: good luck Geelong, and choose wisely — the honour of taking up a councillor position will once again be back in your hands.