It seems as if we will again have YES teams running for council, albeit under different banners, such as Country Labor and Greens. Surely our local population cannot be that gullible to vote for such groups and possibly end up with another fiasco. These groups are focused on issues of their political leaning rather than being independent of politics.
Congratulations to Leisa Davies and her Governance Panel and the findings on councillor expectations. All candidates should individually be assessed against these expectations.
Council is a multimillion dollar business and requires financial expertise from councillors, which is more than running a school canteen or community organisation. Our future councillors need to be persons with a big picture view and the necessary experience and formal qualifications to do justice when fulfilling the obligations of such a position.
I know that group tickets are one way candidates have of standing for council to limit the personal cost of running an election campaign with the necessary material. It is a shame that such costs are quite possibly preventing other interested and experienced persons from throwing their hat into the ring, thus limiting the choice for the ratepayers. I will certainly not vote for any group tickets.
William Quaglio
Port Macquarie
