During the past few weeks since the election, we have been through a “swearing in” process for the newly elected council that has justifiably gained many photo opportunities and chances for establishing a modus operandi that is unique.
The Mayor and her colleagues have had time to set the agenda for the next three years and appear enthusiastic about their opportunities for really making a difference. Good on them. They have earned the right to give it another go!However, may I suggest that it is still not clear what that agenda involves.Does it include a significant departure from the policies of the past, or can we expect a return to business as usual? I suspect the latter.Unfortunately, that will not do!My observations of the new line-up of this council lead me to be believe that in spite of the high-quality abilities of many of them, this council will struggle to do things differently in the areas where we are most vulnerable.I hope I might be proved wrong with that assessment but in order to get a handle on what is likely to happen, we are forced to examine the practices of previous councils, of which half to two-thirds of today’s team were members.My concerns are based on the previous councils’ track record of being unable or not wanting to share a vision of what could be and, more importantly, what needs to be!In the past, people like me have watched closely and made numerous representations to the council offering ideas that might help to change things for the better.In my case, almost all of my suggestions have either been ignored or rejected, which is sad because most are based on experience of what works. In spite of some critics’ opinions that I should just shut up and ride off into the sunset, I would like to think that there are enough councillors who share my concerns about our future to accept the challenge of revisiting at least some of these important issues in the context of our position in the modern world.Clearly, I am talking about the threat to our existence as a result of the negative effects of climate change on our pastoral economy.We simply can’t afford another three years of ostrich-like behaviour.Readers will be well aware of my ideas for transforming this region that are mainly centred on the establishment of new freshwater reserves capable of servicing the expanding urban and rural needs of the community. Yet we still seem reluctant to acknowledge that the need for action on that front is already long overdue.We seem to prefer rushing to endorse meaningless slogans like “a climate change emergency” to fronting the real emergencies here at home that we can do something about? Go figure!There is a real danger that the current traditionally-high prices for sheep and beef meats will be misinterpreted as evidence that we can continue to muddle on under this false sense of security for ever.We can’t and shouldn’t, but could easily adopt measures that are doable within budget and could be seen as an attempt to keep us safe.Isn’t that what we all want!