 Alexis de Toqueville said that in a democracy the people get the government they deserve. It follows that if we want to be well-governed we have to be willing to make an effort to make sure we get the high standard of representation we need and deserve. But getting engaged in local government can seem as dull as ditchwater, until something happens that has the potential to negatively affect your own life. That's what galvanises people into action. If a local authority has got used to a community that's basically apathetic it is not necessarily in their interest that the electorate become more informed. Informed residents make noise. Informed residents won't be fobbed off. Informed residents demand that standards be set and met. The beginning of making local government more accountable is the will to find out what you need to know. As always, knowledge is power. Then you have to let Council know you're awake and insist on more accountability and community consultation. See Council's Community Engagement Policy on the Kyogle Council page. There are already some documents there that may be of interest to local pollie watchers, like the Council's Charter (short and worth a read), a document that tells you what needs planning approval from Council and a list of Councillors, which Ward they represent and their phone numbers. For some fascinating but chilling reading there's a summary of the findings of the s430 investigation into Council a couple of years back. |