Local government can seem trivial. Yet it is the most immediate level of government,with a palpable and physical effect on our lives. Plus,local is the new black. So it’s remarkable just how much decency we don’t expect from holders of civic office.
The local hub of democracy:council elections.Nine
Other civic roles offer stark contrast. Take jury service. When you’re being prepped for it,which I experienced for the first time this week,the solemnity of your duty is repeatedly impressed upon you. First in a video,then by a court officer and,finally,at least twice,by the judge,the dignity of your task and the importance of integrity in its performance are spelled out. It’s all surprisingly uplifting. Your better self sallies forth brandishing aloft the banner for justice.
No such expectations burden our elected representatives. Indeed,so nugatory are our civic hopes it’s almost like we expect our councillors to be narrow,self-interested and corrupt. This might be noirishly amusing were it not for the impact on our habitat. Here,my recent move from lifelong inner-city eco-niche to normal suburban electorate has been an eye-opener.
In the city – unlike almost anywhere else – locals can relax into council decency. Naturally,not all decisions suit everyone. But there’s no sense that rezoning,conservation or approvals are distorted by undue influence,or that public benefit is siphoned into private pockets. That,rather than the usual charge of elitism,is why the city centre has the best public realm – libraries,parks,pools,plantings and footpaths – in the state.
In just about every other electorate,from Waverley to Kiama to North Sydney (with its long and proud tradition of truly public-spirited independents) locals are trying desperately to reclaim their democracies,fighting overdevelopment,under-amenity and the backroom deals that drive them.
Consider my new hood,Strathfield. Our local rail station,with trains every couple of minutes,is a centre of bustle. That’s fun,like a proper,thronging city. But its approach is a squat and spindle-legged covered-way from the nadir of 1980s cheap-n-nasty style. It’s an exemplar of wrist-slitting soullessness,white with bird poo,pungent with human urine and replete with existential despair. Why? Because the money,and the energy,go elsewhere.
Nothing is what it seems – not motivation,machination or allegiance. In theory,political parties don’t exist at local level. Yet Strathfield Council comprises three explicit Liberals,two Labor and two soi-disant Independents. The mayor,until recently,was major Liberal Party donor He but has interests in multiple property companies, and in September,after an 18-month investigation,was found by the to have breached disclosure requirements five times. No penalty has yet eventuated.
A second Liberal councillor,ex-mayor Gulian Vaccari,also denies being a developer,and falls outside the statutory definition,despite a company with which he has an association having built a block of flats in Ashfield. He threatens to sue people (I’ve seen the letter) who describe him as a developer,saying “property developer is a pejorative term”.
Meanwhile,the Doueihi-Vaccari bloc has presided over major proposals that will dramatically reshape the neighbourhood. Controversial rezoning proposals for the huge Water Street warehousing site (owned by of which,billionaire Iwan Sunito,is a director) and the streets near sweet Homebush Village will deliver massive windfalls,as will the proposal to spend tens of millions shifting a council depot 500 metres onto Crown parkland. Yet when non-Liberal councillors request information on costings or rationale,they’re stonewalled,their motions and questions summarily disallowed.
Of the two nominally independent councillors,one is a former Liberal who now works for One Nation;the other is a real estate agent and often seen hobnobbing with Doueihi.
Of course,you might argue that’s what elections are for. Take out the trash,admit the cleanskins. But things could get even worse. Ostensibly,the Libs are not fielding a team. But current candidates include(one of whom is the veryoned above, Benjamin Cai,is agitating to have his from a conservation area) and the One Nation-ite – all of them in the new but fast-growing category known as “”.
And so to the private member’s bill that seeks to ban developers and real estate agents from civic office. When it passed through the NSW upper house last month,the bill’s proponent,Labor MLC Walt Secord,was so shocked he had to seek instruction on third reading protocols. “” he laughed,incredulous.
Thiswould have been a game-changer,transforming first this election,then our cities. But it won’t happen. The Coalition opposes it.
Four years ago,it called such a measure “” – which is just silly. A right to political expression doesn’t give you a right to the bloodbank. This month,the only voice for the noes was Liberal MLC Scott Farlow,who argued that developers weren’t the only ones dishonestly inclined and disclosure requirements should be enough.
But they’re clearly not. Something has to change – and banning vampires from the bloodbank would be a fine first step. As for today,let’s do it. Check the rotters out,then vote them out!
Editor’s note: Since this article was published,theHerald has learnt that Elizabeth Farrelly registered as a candidate for the Labor Party in the Strathfield local government elections. She did not run as a candidate on the Labor Party ticket. However,the Herald considers the registration a fact which is relevant to this opinion piece.