Dear valued subscriber,
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Should the public elect mayors?
That's a legitimate question after the race to be Warrnambool City Council's next leader turned ugly this week.
Voters elect councillors but then councillors decide the mayor each year. The 'internal' election usually involves some campaigning from candidates in pursuit of the numbers when a vote is taken at a public meeting. It is common place for councillors to discuss their intentions but usually those talks remain behind closed doors.
But when it emerged this week that mayor Tony Herbert had decided to change his mind after only a couple of hours earlier telling colleagues he wouldn't stand, things changed.
Cr Sue Cassidy has spoken openly about what happened - she indicated she would stand for the position and with no other contenders, some of her colleagues congratulated her in anticipation she would be formally voted in on Monday night.
She left a gathering of councillors that has been described as a non-meeting by one, only to receive a call that she wouldn't in fact have the numbers, with Cr Herbert deciding to run again for a second term.
As one councillor said, 'that's politics'. Whether the numbers hold until Monday night's vote remain to be seen. But after months of controversy, this week's events have done nothing to restore public confidence in the council.
Residents are thinking if councillors can't even decide among themselves who will be leader, can they represent us and hold bureaucrats to account?
Whoever gets the nod on Monday will have a big job to do in what will be the last 12 months of the group's four-year term. Residents want to see progress, they want to see major projects like the boat ramp upgrade and Reid Oval redevelopment start (finish would be better but the pace of change is painstakingly slow despite years of debates). They want their council to understand they need a reprieve from rising rates and costs; they want a council that can work together to improve the city; they want their leaders to inspire them.
The public has its say at next November's council elections on who should lead them. But not on Monday night.
Victims of last year's devastating St Patrick's Day fires are edging closer to receiving compensation. But electricity distributor Powercor's nightmare is far from over. The state's regulator Energy Safe Victoria this week hit the company with six charges relating to two blazes on St Patrick's Day. ESV, regarded as a toothless tiger, says the charges will be a test case. Regardless of the outcome, we have regularly highlighted deficiencies within its powers and the state government needs to address those, including increasing the maximum fines open to courts and revamping financial incentives to companies. As one victim pointed out this week, Powercor received $995,000 in the 2017-18 financial year for improving its safety record - the period during which the fires happened.
Sadly the weather was against a number of community events yesterday, including the Warrnambool Show. But it was great to see so many supporting the event. The region's community events are fantastic but it's time our councils developed a calendar that helps spread them out better.
The show season rolls on next Saturday when Port Fairy hosts its annual event. For your chance to win one of five family passes (two adults and three children), click here.
Congratulations to the winners of last week's giveaway. These people picked up free family passes to the Warrnambool Show, Carolyn Judd, Emma Clements, Diane Mugavin, Carolyn Rivett, Nadine Neave, Helen Ryan, Narelle Hill and Carolyn Howe.
Unfortunately technology worked against us on Tuesday when the daily digital edition of the paper was unavailable for several hours. This is not acceptable. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Here's a selection of stories that made headlines this week. My favourite pic of the week was the one above, captured by photographer Morgan Hancock at the Twelve Apostles.
Until next week