As councillors, we have a responsibility to the community to make decisions that are in the best interest of our residents.
However, the right decision is not always the easiest decision.
Sometimes making these tough decisions on our community’s behalf can have impacts on small parts of our community.
Our councillors do a great job of representing their divisions – but under the legislation we all must balance divisional considerations with what is best for the residents of the whole city.
In my 25-plus years, I’ve been part of councils that have had to make hard decisions, but later, people have said to me that they were the right outcomes for the community.
An important element of that decision making process is robust, respectful and transparent conversations between councillors.
Our committee and council meetings have never been more accessible to our community – they are livestreamed and recorded.
These public meetings enable councillors to ask questions of the organisation and each other on some very complex matters.
By doing this it is enables us to have all the information possible to inform a sound decision.
These complex matters are ones that will quite often divide the vote of council, which is why it is so important to have these respectful discussions – this is the beauty of democracy.
We have seen some difficult decisions made by council in recent weeks and I want to acknowledge the way councillors have articulated their reasons for voting a certain way while respecting each other.
I stand by my colleagues and the decisions they make on your behalf. We are elected to serve you, and we do that to the utmost of our ability.
I firmly believe this is the most open and transparent council I have seen.
