Someone recently said that local government in Australia is really a State agency.

The sacking of Wollongong City Council, rather than going straight to the people to decide by way of a local government election, is a clear demonstration of this as being true.

People in Wollongong have been denied the chance to cast their vote until 2012 – denied by masters from the same political party which, by way of their caucusing, corrupted the workings of democracy on Wollongong Council. This, itself, leads to perceptions of a form of political corrpution at the State level.

What is required now is a new democratic movement to gain constitutional recognition for local government to make sure that the very first remedy – when Councils are corrupt, underperforming or whatever – is to take it directly to the local people for us to say what we think.

In the absence of a local government election in Wollongong in September 2008, should we host a major conference on community engagement at that time?

In 2005 Brisbane hosted an international conference on engaging communities. Check it out.

See – http://www.engagingcommunities2005.org/abstracts.html

(Thanks to L.R.)

From WCC website:

http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/haveyoursay.asp

“Wollongong City Council would like to advise the community that Ward Councilor Forums scheduled for the month of March have been postponed. Council will keep residents informed of any further changes to engagement activities.”

For more information please contact WCC Community and Cultural Services Division Phone: 4227 7017

Email: function mailLink2242(sDom, sUser) { return(“mail”+”to:”+sUser+”@”+sDom.replace(/%23/g,”.”)); } function mailText2242(sDom, sUser) { return(sUser+”@”+sDom.replace(/%23/g,”.”)); } function changeLinkText2242() { var el = document.getElementById(“email2242″); el.innerHTML = mailText2242(\\\\’wollongong%23nsw%23gov%23au\\\\’,\\\\’socialplanning\\\\’); } socialplanning@wollongong.nsw.gov.au changeLinkText2242();;

Concerned Residents of East Dapto – CRED is YOUR East Dapto community group!

Working to build a better community

Don’t Dump DAPTO

Saturday 15th of March @ 10am

Dapto Mall in ANZ Courtyard

More info Web:www.eastdapto.wordpress.com

The Illawarra Community and Environment Connection is facilitating a public forum on Monday, the 17^th March at the Links Golf Club, Shell Cove at 7:00pm in response to major developments within the Illawarra, political donations, ICAC recommendations, and their implications regarding planning reforms,

Sonya McKay, Co-ordinator of ICEC – 0407910029

See “comments” for full media release

With some of us wondering if we can still validly use the expression “Wollongong City Council” – since we no longer have a Council as such (Wollongong City State Government Agency?) – the following resouce prepared by Les Robinson when we did have a Council provides some very useful information about improving democratic participation.

“Open your Council”

http://www.enablingchange.com.au/Open_Your_Council.pdf

There are those people who call for the re-instatement of the former WCC Neighbourhood Committees. I am not one of them.

My own call has been for new Precinct Committees, although it is now fairly clear that any chance of these are probably off the local reform agenda inWollongong for the next four years.

What is required is a new model of Council-Community Advisory Groups (to use the last Council meeting resolution terminology) which is designed to take into account the lessons which have been learnt from the long experiment with WCC Neighbourhood Committees.

What is required is the collection and critical analysis/assessment of that experiment from all sides (especially the harshest critics).

When that information is collected, the next step is to design a new model, by negotiation,  which will be acceptable to all the major stakeholders (and especially the wider local community in whose name such groups operate).

Bruce R

What started with a serious attempt to end the rot within W.C.C. is now at risk of rapidly becoming a farce.

The unfair dismissal of independent Wollongong City Councillors makes a complete mockery of the idea of democracy at the local level. Many people who voted for these Councillors welcomed the I.C.A.C. investigation to stop the rot of corruption within W.C.C..But as a result of the I.C.A.C. inquiry, a great injustice has been perpetrated on the people of Wollongong.Not only are our independent Councillors unfairly dismissed by the State government and Governor, we are not allowed to exercise our right to vote in the coming NSW Council elections. We may, instead, be subject to the ultimate control trip – three State Government appointed administrators who are not from our part of the world – for the next four and half years.

It is clear from the reactions of many people in the Wollongong area that the notion of democracy at the local level is a much underrated civic good. Many of these people have little real idea of what real Councillors can and cannot do and the enormously important role they play in actually representing our communities.Consequently, these unreflecting citizens have little idea about what they have just lost. Our decision making process has had its collective memory cauterised. The crucial communication links between our communities and our local government have been severed.Urgent action is now required by Wollongong City Council to implement the resolution passed at the last Council meeting to hold a forum on Community Advisory Groups ‘within two weeks’.

In the absence of elected Councillors, the needs of good governance urgently require that Council moves to put a fair dinkum community-Council communication process in place via properly resourced Community Advisory Groups which can serve as honest brokers of community business.

Failure of the new Administrators to implement this resolution will constitute their first major act of Bad Faith with our communities. In which event, we will have rapidly moved from the workings of a real local democracy to the theatre of the absurd. Why take anything seriously – especially ‘edicts’ from ‘on high’ ?

Alternatively, of course, there is always the possibility that the new Adminstrators may surprise us by bringing some much needed new thinking into the core of Council’s decision making regarding genuine community participation. We will soon know.

 Bruce Reyburn

MEDIA RELEASE

WAC (WOLLONGONG AGAINST CORRUPTION) ANNOUNCES MAJOR PUBLIC MEETING TO RERSTORE DEMOCRACY IN WOLLONGONG

6 March 2008

The Wollongong Against Corruption group, WAC, which spearheaded a campaign to address corruption and harassment problems within Wollongong City Council about 18 months ago will hold a major public meeting and forum at Wollongong Town Hall next Tuesday night 11 March 2008 at 7.30pm.

“This is another major step to restore democracy in Wollongong,” said WAC spokesperson Paul Matters.

“WAC is calling for a Royal Commission into corrupt practices of political parties (including developer donations), justice for the sexual abuse suffered by former female staff of WCC, meeting with the administrators regarding the immediate reinstatement of Neighbourhood Committees, North Beach bathers pavilion, reopening of the peoples’ Town Hall and a moratorium on controversial developments,” said Mr Matters.

“We want to bring the people of Wollongong together, and consult with them, to plan the way ahead to restore democratic processes.”

Invited speakers are:

Vicki Curran

Helen Wemyss

Minister for Local Government, Paul Lynch,

Lee Rhiannon, NSW Upper House Greens MP,

Genia McCaffery, Mayor of North Sydney and President of the Local Government Association

Sharalyn Robinson, Secretary of the Illawarra Local Aboriginal Land Council

Arthur Rorris, Secretary, South Coast Labour Council

Fay Campbell will chair the meeting.     Contact: Paul Matters on 0431457108

06 March 2008

DEMOCRACY OR DICTATORSHIP? CALL FOR COUNCIL ELECTION

The Illawarra Greens today called on the NSW Government to hold an election for Wollongong City Council as soon as possible, following yesterday’s decision to sack all Councillors.

Convenor of the Illawarra Greens Jill Merrin said, “The Labor State Government’s decision to sack the Labor-dominated Council, because of systemic corruption in the majority of Labor Councillors, and replace themwith Labor-selected administrators, only serves to punish the people ofWolllongong further.”

“Minister for Local Government Paul Lynch should make sure that the ALP cleans up its own act rather than sweeping the dirt under the carpet.” “We urge Premier Morris Iemma to address the growing scandal over the interference in government by the development industry. Until corporate political donations are banned completely, we can never be confident that decisions are objective.”

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