I had the experience of meeting my local Councillor for the first time recently and as a new constituent to the division, I took some time to look at the body of work from my elected representative.
What I found or more to the point, what I didn’t find, was concerning.
Is it common practice for Gympie Councillors’ professional public Facebook pages to read as an extension of their personal profiles?
Close to 100 social media posts in the last month and the only content remotely linked to their portfolio were Courier Mail articles and shares from other politicians or Council.
Hardly proof of their own literacy or professional development in their given field.
God forbid a cis gendered white man’s opinion on racism or why women are having less children these days isn’t given space to be heard (it’s not because less babies are dying during childbirth and so less pregnancies are needed, just FYI).
Don’t get me wrong, discussions on dismantling racism and the improvements to women’s equity are vital and should be happening on a systemic level within Council.
But where is the work?
In the last 6 months since taking on their new portfolio, there has not been a single mention of their attendance or learnings from related conferences, leadership groups or think tanks (of which there are many).
No valuable information whatsoever from the engineers, planners, scientists and researchers brought together at these events (as close to us as the Sunshine Coast) to focus on the technological, scientific, policy, planning and design issues related to our region.
Nor has there been any reporting back to community on their more intimate understanding of the portfolio’s strategic activities and issues.
A direct policy objective.
Going back last year to their previous portfolio and we see a theme arise. I haven’t checked yet, but I’m guessing the minutes from Council meetings will tell a similar story.
Councillors are supposed to grow their knowledge to better represent and understand the topical or pending issues of the portfolio area on our behalf and share that knowledge with us.
The role of Councillor is not a ceremonial one. They are paid (by us) as a public servant, whose job, public profile, and professional Facebook pages should not be a platform for virtue signalling.
I for one expect a much higher return on our investment than we’re currently seeing.
We deserve engaged Councillors, who disseminate well-researched, relevant information.
More substance please. Elections are looming.
– Sarah Taylor
Gympie
