Today, I bring you the editorial I wrote for the August edition of the Hawkesbury Post.
Between them, Liberal and Labor have held the Mayoralty on Hawkesbury Council for seventeen of the last twenty years, with effective control of the chamber.
Some would say, it shows. Before the Parties got their stranglehold on Council, many people remember the popular mayorship of the late Dr Rex Stubbs, who was a much loved and respected, and more importantly, independent Mayor. I remember when someone in the chamber was being overly self-important, he would simply look over his glasses and smile at you with his eyes, silently letting you in on the unspoken joke. I miss him so.
This term of Council led by two Liberal Mayors, Patrick Conolly and Sarah McMahon must surely stand out as three years of missed opportunities and disappointment.
Firstly, the entire term has elapsed without a new LEP. Our ‘Local Environmental Plan’ is our main planning policy which shapes the future of our community and ensures development is done appropriately. Our current and antiquated LEP dates to 2012 and is no longer fit for purpose. A new LEP would have introduced a raft of changes including scope for detached dual occupancies and granny flats in more places, and stronger protection for our heritage and the environment.
The previous term of Council finalised work on a modernised LEP and dispatched it to the NSW Government for polishing as one of its last acts in late 2021. The Liberal and Labor bloc, as literally the first thing they did at the beginning of this term when they solidified control of the chamber, was to pull it back for ‘further work’. It hasn’t seen daylight since, which is an abject failure of leadership.
Then the Liberals ensured the passing of the “Rural Boundary Clearing Code”, a disastrous policy that allows the clear felling of trees on properties, including Koala habitat, self-assessed by landowners, and with no monitoring by Council given that no funds were allocated for geospatial tools to track tree cover in the LGA. There is evidence that developers have used this policy to remove vegetation on properties for subdivision.
This Council has presided over a $32.5 million blowout for the repair of a single sewer pipeline across South Creek. It came within a breath of reneging on a promise to seal Packer Road, a key pledge it linked to the special rate variation that hiked everyone’s rates by a 31.3% starting in 2018.
Council’s long term financial position is weakening, with an infrastructure backlog running into the tens of millions, meaning our ability to repair roads and maintain facilities will diminish. I predict the next Chamber will confront the unwelcome necessity of another rate-hike, hitting ratepayers already struggling with the cost of living.
Lastly, the Liberal and Labor bloc rescinded a measure I had passed which would have reported on Councillor attendance not just at chamber meetings, but workshops, committees and briefings, plus their expenses. I think people expect that kind of accountability and transparency from their elected representatives.
Ronald Reagan used to say that nappies and governments should be changed regularly, and for the same reason. Independents don’t have a magic wand to fix seventeen years of neglect, but they demonstrably offer leadership which is more engaged, more respectful and more reflective of the community’s aspirations. This is why I ask all Hawkesbury residents to start conversations with their friends about whether, even for those with a rusted-on loyalty to a political brand, they should bench the major parties this time and give some others a go.