I have read in the pages of your newspaper on numerous occasions that councillors are – for want of a better phrase – not freely sharing their thoughts on important local issues.
While I must congratulate you for bringing shortcomings to our attention, I find myself reverting to the fundamentals of governance.
Put simply, I’m wondering what the role of councillors actually is?
During the time our council was in administration, we heard often that the job of councillors should be similar to a board of directors, guiding the policies and desired outcomes of its organisation without becoming involved in the day-to-day affairs.
Yet, surely politics is so much more than that?
Councillors are expected to be out in their community, listening to the opinions of their constituents. They are expected to know every pothole and every bin collection in their elected division. And they are expected to hold a view on what the future might look like for the residents who voted them in.
I for one feel this is is an impossible task if “my” councillor isn’t being given the freedom to talk through issues with the people doing the legwork.
A board of directors meets once every so often, as does our council. But a board of directors isn’t working with their organisation’s customer base on a daily basis – well, not always.
I agree with you that councillors should be openly sharing their opinions via the pages of your newspaper and other independent media outlets, including the ABC.
But they should be able to do this without fear or reprisal which clearly seems to be the case if I’m right in my “between the lines” interpretation of why councillors no longer seem to want to share ideas with their public.
You spoke last week (MyCity Logan, November 30) of a “media policy of convenience”. How about we ask the question whether the policy is more convenient to bureaucrats who worry about being questions around due diligence, moreso than it is to councillors who just want to get things done?
Because, you see, councillors are often ones who’d like to be asking the questions, but who are being prohibited from doing so – effectively, in the least.
L Martin,
Browns Plains.
