Mr Purcell stuck his head up in the Legislative Council this week to fire a broadside at local councils, saying councillors sometimes could not be trusted to make the best decisions in the interests of the community.

In Warrnambool’s case he was of course talking about the impending decision by city councillors about whether to give the go-ahead to meat giant Midfield’s expansion plans at its processing plant.

A planning panel is yet to rule on Midfield’s application for a milk processing facility and cold store, but the company appears to have complied with regulations and would be expecting a favourable decision. 

However, the city’s seven councillors get the final say and that’s the bit that concerns Mr Purcell, who knows it is no certainty they will give the thumbs-up to Midfield in the face of strong community opposition from Merrivale residents.

If councillors vote against expansion Midfield will invest more of its business in South Australia, where the state government is offering attractive incentives.

Mr Purcell was elected to the Upper House on a platform of jobs creation, so it is unsurprising that he is supporting Midfield.

More compelling were his remarks about councils.

Squarely aimed at urging the Andrews government to look more closely at the ability of some local authorities to function effectively, he was hinting at a need for statewide reform.

Locally, Midfield is a big decision for Warrnambool, possibly too big for our present crop of city representatives.

Mr Purcell certainly seems to think so and, given the weight of his all-important independent Upper House vote, the government will listen closely to what he has to say, especially on the sensitive issue of jobs.

It can’t afford not to if it wants to win the new MP’s support for its legislation.

We might yet find that the state government calls in the Midfield application so that it can make a ruling at a higher level.

 And, politics being the numbers game it is, it wouldn’t take a genius to predict the result.