The September elections for the Dubbo Regional Council may still be months away, but it is time for the community to start giving serious thought to the type of civic leadership it wants.
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The old Dubbo City Council (DCC) and Wellington Shire Council were trashed in the merger forced on the two centres by the NSW government led by then Premier Mike Baird and his deputy Troy Grant. The councillors serving on both bodies were unceremoniously dumped.
Whatever the government’s justifications and arguments – and many of them were seriously flawed – it was also the trashing of grassroots democracy. Dubbo and Wellington ratepayers were not given an opportunity to vote for or against the merger. It was steam-rollered in.
Grassroots democracy will return to the area when the election is held for Dubbo Regional Council (DRC).
But, the new council is a very different beast from its predecessors. DCC councillors were elected by ratepayers from across the city. New councillors will be elected in five wards – four in Dubbo and one in Wellington. Each ward will elect two councillors. Wellington has its own ward to ensure the town’s interests are represented.
The 10 councillors will have to act in the interests of two very different areas. Dubbo, the growing and financially sound centre, and Wellington which was, and still is, struggling.
It is not known how many former councillors from the two centres might stand in September. Certainly, former Dubbo deputy mayor Ben Shields has said he will be a candidate. Others may throw their hats in the ring closer to the poll.
A fair amount of attention will certainly be given to how much of the DRC’s cash is spent on Wellington. There were pre-merger fears that it could be a drain on ratepayers living in Dubbo. They remain.
A vital issue is that the council does not dissolve into factions and fighting. The DCC battled with factions for some years before the last group of councillors set a unified direction. They may not have all agreed on all issues but, after years of rows and “politics”, managed civic affairs more professionally.
The voters need to bear that history in mind. The challenges ahead of the new elected council will be difficult enough without constant politicking and bickering.
And the election will be here before we know it.
