We need vision
TOMORROW we will know which of the four announced candidates (barring a surprise last minute nomination) will be elected mayor of the City of Greater Geelong by our 11 new councillors.
The four candidates who have put their names forward, including two former councillors, have public profiles either through council and/or employment/community service involvement.
Unfortunately, rather than being directly elected by ratepayers, we will again see mayors elected behind closed doors by councillors.
Will undisclosed deals be done behind those doors to gain support, as was the case with previously elected mayors? Hopefully not. We do have a new council, with four members from the previous sacked council and one from earlier CoGG councils.
There have been some grumblings already amid claims that our new council is predominantly a Liberal-leaning group.
If that is the case, too bad, because the State Government, according to some observers, sacked its democratically-elected predecessor not just because of bullying and dysfunction, but because it was led by a colourful and popular Liberal-leaning mayor, Darryn Lyons, who might, in the future, have been a threat to a sitting Labor MP.
Whether that is true or not I do not know, but crikey when I look at our state and federal governments at the moment I see dysfunction, and rorting of the system, wasting of millions of taxpayer dollars, and wonder why we can’t have administrators in Spring St and Canberra.
Politics these days seems to be driven by political expediency and thirst for power rather than by principles and ideology, as in the past.
Just tune in to Question Time in Canberra on TV occasionally to see our elected representatives at work.
Looking at the makeup of our new council, I think it a good balance between old and new.
I am one of those who believe we did need some experienced former councillors, whether from the CoGG or from elsewhere. We did have a former Bendigo mayor stand unsuccessfully. He knew the system and how to work with council officers.
Our city is a $300 million-plus a year business and our councill ors are virtually the board of directors, so we also need people with some business experience as well as people who are motivated by humanitarian and political considerations.
So, looking ahead rather than dwelling on the past, which can’t be changed, our new council can lead us into a new era.
We are in a period of transition in Geelong — as are many city-regions around the world — and our council has a major role to play in this, in fact a leadership role, and must agree on a vision and work with other community organisations to refine and realise it.
Only last week we had major announcments relating to the exciting future promised by Deakin in manufacturing along with new jobs, as well as the possibility of spin-offs for Geelong if Marand and BAE produce Land 400 components at the former Ford factory. Yes, councillors are elected to look after their wards, but they also have a responsibility to have a wider vision for the region, to revitalise the CBD, to show leadership and work in cooperation with other groups to develop Geelong as a hub for new-age industries, such as biotech and IT. The “big picture vision” will have spin-offs to the wards and, hopefully, provide new opportunities for the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs in recent years with the decline of traditional industries. Being a city councillor today is not just about gutters and garbage, and it never was. It is about building a new Geelong and working with others who are trying to do so to provide a future for our children and grandchildren. I am positive about the future and wish our new councillors well in their roles representing the people of our city-region.