Some of us tried to tell WCC and our local Ward 1 Councillors that the age of the book was rapidly coming to an end and that the incoming net-savvy generations will have very different information collecting habits than those of the 20th century.

The WCC decision-makers ears were well and truly blocked. A new hall and library fitted with their 20th century “modern” view of themselves, depsite the fact we have perfectly adequate halls and local (if modest) libraries already.

The Australian government is presently committing to a $43 billion roll-out of high speed optic fibre to the home across the country. This will enable every home with a computer to download as much information from remote sources as they could ever possibly dream of using in a lifetime.

Books are incresingly becoming available either online or downloadable to palm held readers. Just what is the role of a Libary in a post-industrial society?

We argued that what people in this part of the northern suburbs of Wollongong needed is services – for disaffected youth for example, and to buy back important land at Sandon Point.

There is a tiny little room in the new building set aside for youth. Many young people will not be able to breath in such suffocating surroundings. Young people in the north are bored witless by the way adults have handled life here. We could not even get a small skateboard ramp in Coledale.

Should the new facility be vandalised by disaffected youth, all those who voted in favour of it instead of services should accept their part in setting up this situation.

The present Thirroul Library and the Bulli Library may make good places for local youth services when these close on 22 May. What’s the odds of that happening? Next to nil based on past performance.

AND ON THE ISSUE OF THE FUTURE OF BOOKS AND BOOK BASED LIBRARIES

See http://www.thebookisdead.com/

And read on regarding the cutting edge in California:

Governor terminates textbooks for schools

Alex Spillius in Washington
June 12, 2009

THE Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has unveiled a plan
to save his state money by phasing out school textbooks in favour of
learning over the internet.

Read the rest of this entry »

A correspondent has asked:

“Your latest on Campbell and Precincts appears to assume that your model will tolerate potential political corruption as long as the precincts have power and resources?

Alternately, how do you think that the next elected Council will not contain a majority of political submissiveness to Sussex street?”

In order to widen the community debate (what do you think) here is my answer:

Well, i can’t see us getting Precinct Committees (resourced or otherwise) any time real soon so what we are facing is a lack of any form of democratically elected representation at the local government level (until 2012) as we head into the uncharted waters of a deepening global crisis.

Nor will the potential political corruption you mention disappear from the mainstream of life where it is well and truly entrenched. It is not a matter of tolerating it so much as having to live with it in order to address some other pressing problems. What’s the alternative? I don’t sense a major change happening across the State – a great many people are bunkering down and seeking to preserve the status quo.

Many of us live for the day when the ALP no longer dominates WCC – and our collective forebrain can start of operate for a truly creative Wollongong – but that can only come when a majority of voting people in a majority of Wards agree with us.

There has a been a long process working towards such an outcome – and working in a democratic spirit. Erosion appears to operate faster – but change does happen.

However, yes, if we had good Precinct Committees then Council, as a form of organisation, would be more corruption resistant. But it’s just not going to happen at this time – people are only just starting to work through the paper tiger Mark3 of Neighbourhood Forums, and the electorate is very very conservative when it comes to local government reform.

Precinct Committees would also serve to counter the power which comes from Sussex Street – but that is up to the local people to ensure that the ALP (or any other major political party) does not dominate Precinct Committees in those areas where the ALP tends to dominate.

Careful design attention of Precinct Committees is required to enable local people so they can participate effectively. This itself requires a real commitment from those who are directing Council resources. The former WCC Neighbourhood Committees were starved of all manner of resources.

Same thing is happening with NFs now – after all, it is only the appearance of community consultation that those empowered by the present arrangements require – not the substance.

ADMINSTRATORS AND GENERAL MANAGER AS “LEADERS”?

I cannot endorse the situation in which our communities interests in crucial matters at this time (or any time) are represented by three State appointed Administrators and/or Council’s careerist General Manager.

With the best of will on their part, they can never do any other than substitute their own very limited own world view for the informed opinion which results from having genuine hard-working elected representatives.

The Administrators and General Manager follow their own life narratives, and (given their success) it is clear they have made careful choices of the kind which advance particular interests. They just are not ‘leaders’. That type of approach is not the same as one which is required to present itself to the full electorate and to under public scrutiny.

There is a vast world of difference between the type of spirit elected representatives bring to such negotiations and those which result in a successful bureacratic career.

NEXT ELECTED COUNCIL

In terms of the next elected Council i would say, given the composition of the Wollongong voting population, that there is a very good chance that the next elected Council contain a majority of political submissiveness to Sussex Street.

While i am not happy about that if that is the informed choice of the people of Wollongong, that’s democracy for you – and you then have to deal with the issues as they arise without enjoying a Council with a ‘free’ choice. Same as it ever was.

I can’t see major political parties being banned from overt participation in local government here at this time. It’s not even on the discussional agenda.

It is unclear to me how the ICAC finding about caucusing may change ALP decision-making practices. Do you know?

You will recall that there were a large number of non-corrupt hard working Councillors in the previous WCC Council. Not all ALP Councillors were found to have acted corruptly. A majority of Councillors, then, were not corrupt and they should never have been sacked.

We need proper democratically-based representation at this time in order to get the best outcomes for people in our communities.

BOTTOM LINE

In lieu of real reforms at the present time, I place my faith in the voting people in Wollongong to be able to elect who they want to represent us at the Council level (and to correct any major problems which arise, when they arise).

Bottom line – we require to be represented by democratically elected Councillors at this time – and at all times. Any particular problem has to be dealt with as it arrises.

Taking away our local government representation is never acceptable.

cheers

Bruce

PS Amend the Australian Constitution to entrench democratic local government representation as a right (and to do so with a local government model which has fair dinkum Precinct Committees as a key design feature) .

I struck me as a tad patronising for Kevin Rudd, leader of the Australian Labor Party, to say that we, in the Illawarra, are a ‘proud people’ when we have been denied the right to have a democratically elected local Council to represent our interests as this global crisis worsens.

I would happily trade my share of that elusive ‘proudness’ for some real democratic representation in our local government at this point in time (especially given the lack of real Precinct Committees).

Criticism, however, is better directed at David Campbell, as Minister for the Illawarra, who (as a member of the NSW ALP and State Cabinet) happily sits on his hands and allows the citizens of Wollongong and Shellharbour to pay this massive and unnecessary price for the sins of the local Australian Labor Party.

I have no doubt he does a lot of good work for the Illawarra, especially with those 20th century style industrial strength deals which come from the Old Left power-base. But his failure to represent the best interests of the citizens of Wollongong and Shellharbour by seeking the rapid return of non-corrupt Councillors to our local Council cannot go unrecorded.

What’s that David? We can’t hear you.

Bruce Reyburn
Coledale

WCC Media release: Thursday, 30 April 2009

Community Cultural Development Network

Wollongong City Council is establishing a new network to unite artists, community workers
and organisations wanting to explore the realm of Community Cultural Development.

Community Cultural Development is about involving the community in cultural projects so
they can creatively explore their stories and issues. Local examples include the Hooka Park
Place of Healing and Wellbeing and last year’s Celebration of Disability Art Exhibition.

Director of Corporate and Community Services, Illana Halliday, said Council and other local
groups have been active in the Community Cultural Development field for many years but
there are more artists and community organisations who want to get involved.

“Some people don’t know what Community Cultural Development is and others just need
the contacts and resources to keep going. The new network aims to close the gap by
providing artists and groups with an opportunity to meet and share resources and ideas.”

“The network will provide a forum for training and mentoring community organisations and
professional artists who want to develop projects for their communities.”

“There is already a lot of expertise in the arts community and we’d like to bring those
people together to facilitate and drive new projects in the area.”

To kick start this network, Council is holding a Community Cultural Development forum on
Thursday, 14 May from 6pm to 9pm in the Continental Pool Function Room on Cliff Road,
Wollongong.

Those seeking more information about the new Community Cultural Development network
or are interested in joining, are asked to call Council on 4251 4712 and RSVP by Friday, 8
May.

A glib WCC spokeperson appearing on WIN TV news last week, being interviewed about the new hall and library at Thirroul, and said – glibbly- about how much we get for ten and a half million dollars.

At $10 million, at one stage, we could probably have bought the Headland Hotel site and had a great place for a community centre.

The Thirroul community centre hall is a ‘district’ facility which we did not need, as we have a perfectly adequate district hall in Coledale (better placed to serve a district which include Stanwell Park).

And the new library comes into existence as books and research are being superceded by home based internet computing.

While Council’s PR machine will be cranking up the spin over coming weeks, the real question to be asked is what else we could have done with $10 million of our rates.

More services; something for disaffected youth in our area; securing and rehabilitating land at Sandon Point are some alternatives.