Ward referendum to go ahead
A RESCISSION motion aimed at reversing Dubbo Regional Council’s decision to hold a referendum to abolish the ward system has been defeated at an extraordinary meeting held last Thursday, October 21.
Deputy Mayor Anne Jones put forward the notice in a bid to change Council’s course of action after voting against the proposal at the September Ordinary meeting.
There was much debate at the meeting which included the referendum being labelled a ‘political stunt’. All current councillors weighed in on the topic which has primarily divided Dubbo and Wellington representatives, bar Cr Greg Mohr who was not present at the Council Chambers and dialled in via an audio-visual link.
Her voice heavy with emotion, Cr Jones spoke about her inability to choose anything that would disadvantage local representation, particularly if it meant dividing the communities.
Cr Jones questioned the decision-making and said she couldn’t support anything that will abolish the ward system within our Local Government Area.
“After four years on Council, why are we waiting until five minutes before midnight to actually do something?” she asked.
“If the ward system is so bad, why do they still exist in other Local Government Areas?”
Cr Jones went on to explain how Wellington would be disadvantaged by a different format than the existing system.
“Unless Wellington receives first preferences from Wellington and Dubbo voters, it is unlikely we’ll get more than one councillor in the current Wellington ward,” she said.
“I cannot believe that we’ll have that support from the Dubbo voters.”
Cr Jones said this would drive a further wedge between the two communities, which had already been disadvantaged enough.
Instead, she believes that a ward structure “guarantees representation from various outlying areas”.
“I’m really upset to say the least because we worked for four years to try and bring Wellington and Dubbo communities together,” she told the meeting.
“I thought we had made inroads to bring the two communities together so that we could operate as one council. What is going to happen if we are no longer in a position where we have representation from
Wellington?”
As the councillor who initially raised the issue, Cr Vicki Etheridge believes that abolishing the wards will reinject democracy into the system. She also said that the wards had created nothing but “confusion and frustration”.
“Four years ago, democracy was thrown out the window here in Dubbo Regional Council with the amalgamation. I want to bring some of that back again by putting this referendum to the people. Let the people decide! People should have the right to vote for whoever they want,” Cr Etheridge said.
After extensive discussion around the matter, the rescission was unsuccessful and the resolution of the September Ordinary meeting remains in place for a referendum question to abolish the ward system be put to voters as part of the Local Government election in December.