The Daily Telegraph has published an article about Lane Cove Council campaigning resolving to promote the Yes vote with ratepayers’ money. The article is critical about Lane Cove Council discussing an issue that is not about roads, rates or rubbish.
The Daily Telegraph states that the council is facing calls “that it should stick to its traditional responsibilities of rates, roads, and rubbish, following its decisions to weigh into the Voice debate and campaign for green initiatives.” The article provides no statistics or evidence to back up this claim other than an interview with two locals.
These articles are published regularly; they usually call for local councils to stick to their “core purpose to collect rubbish, fix local roads and keep rates down”. The Guardian published an article, “Council of war: how much should local government stray from roads, rates and rubbish?” and the Courier Mail followed suit with an article called “Stick to collecting rubbish – not spreading it”.
However, newly published research by Mark Chou, Rachel Busbridge, and Serrin Rutledge-Prior has found that most Australians expect more from their local councils than roads, rates and rubbish, and they want them to discuss topics such as climate change.
ITC spoke to Mark Chou about his recent research and the findings that Councils should move Beyond Roads, Rates and Rubbish.
Mark Chou told ITC that he decided to research this area after seeing several councils discussing whether to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day and if they should support The Voice. He noted that more than 100 local councils (including Lane Cove Council) have declared a climate emergency.
Mark Chou noted Australians still identify traditional services to property as the most important for local councils to provide. However, there’s a growing appreciation that a more diverse array of socially oriented services is important as well,
In June and July 2022, a national survey of 1,350 people was conducted, where participants were asked about the role of local government. The results are presented in a report called The Changing Role of Local Government.
The survey found that most people agreed their local councils should engage with bigger, contentious issues.
More than nine in ten respondents, for instance, believed local councils should:
- advocate for the needs of the local community (93%)
- reflect local community values (93%)
- deliver services that contribute to a healthier and fairer society (91%).
The survey also found that 83% of respondents agreed local government should be a place where the local community can debate national issues.
Lane Cove Council and The Voice Debate
During last week’s council meeting, Six Lane Cove Councillors tabled a notice of motion recommending Lane Cove Council affirms its support for constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through a Voice to Parliament
The Councillors who proposed the notice of motion were:
Councillor Kathy Bryla (Labor)
Councillor Merri Southwood (Independent)
Councillor David Roenfeldt (Labor)
Councillor Andrew Zbik (Labor)
Councillor Rochelle Flood (Greens)
Councillor Bridget Kennedy (Independent)
The above list of councillors is reproduced in the same order as set out in the Lane Cove Council Agenda Papers.
Councillors David Brooks Horn specifically noted during the debate (several times) that roads, rates and rubbish are the bread and butter of the council.
Councillor Mort did not favour the motion. She would only vote for a motion whereby Lane Cove Council promoted both the yes and no cases.
Councillor Bennison was also not in favour of the motion and mentioned the motion should only be passed if both the yes and no cases were supported. Councillor Bennison also noted this was a federal issue.
Lane Cove Council in the News
As mentioned above, the Daily Telegraph was critical of Lane Cove Council’s support of the Voice. ITC fact-checked some of the claims made in the article.
- The article notes that roads (plural) will be closed during Car Free Sunday – only one section of Longueville Road will be closed. The same section that is closed during the Lane Cove Rotary Fair.
- The Daily Telegraph article notes: “The council could spend as much as $6,000 to campaign for the Yes vote – with that money set to be diverted from programs designed to boost Indigenous employment opportunities and provide training for Indigenous students.” Ms Jane Gornall, the General Manager responsible for overseeing the Reconciliation Action Plan budget, noted that the council could spend up to $2000 on promoting the Yes case. She further noted that the funds would probably be diverted from an in-house training budget for staff on employing first nations people.
Last week Chris O’Keefe on Radio 2GB criticised the Lane Cove Council for supporting the Yes vote. He interviewed the Member for Lane Cove, Anthony Roberts, who stated that locals wanted the council to concentrate on local issues (such as fixing roads and footpaths). You can hear the interview here.
On Friday, 21 July, Chris O’Keefe again interviewed Anthony Roberts on Lane Cove Council’s Investment Policy and Local Government’s role was again discussed. Anthony Roberts mentioned he has written to the Minister for Local Government about the council’s role being to provide services to residents and not to push political agendas.
At the end of the interview, Chris O’Keefe stated:
“If you are a Councillor, you are not important… you are on the lowest rung of government, and nobody cares about you.”
Local councillors and commentators appear to be out of step with the most recent research, which shows that locals want their councillors to discuss issues other than Roads, Rates and Rubbish.
This year one of the most popular Lane Cove Council programmes was not about Roads, Rates and Rubbish, it was the Street Party Programme where council encouraged residents to meet by offering a $300 reimbursement for food. The program was so popular it was oversubscribed in two days. This program was about creating a sense of community and belonging; nothing to do with roads, rates and rubbish.
Lane Cove Mayor Andrew Zbik was quoted in the Daily Telegraph article as saying: “Roads, rates and rubbish don’t create a sense of community, it’s the extra stuff that council does that does that,”
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