It is surely official now.
Being a Gympie Regional Councillor is the safest sinecure in Australia.
That very generous salary and suite of perks is protected by a heavy curtain of communal apathy.
The recent decision by five Councillors to cease fluoridation of the city’s water supply without any community consultation was an exercise in arrogance and ignorance.
There was no quoted scientific or research evidence to support a decision that will potentially impact the dental health of generations to come.
The one or two dental practitioners previously consulted argued for the retention of fluoridation.
But, in the end, five Councillors apparently decided that they knew more about dental health than those dentists.
Some of them kept that knowledge completely secret, making little or no contribution to the ‘debate’.
The prelude to the vote to cease fluoridation of the city’s water was even more damning.
It focused on the advisability or otherwise of consulting the community on this important community health issue.
And, to its shame, the Council decided against allowing the community to have a say on the matter.
That decision was arguably a reckless abuse of power.
But, despite the interest of the ABC in the first thing in Gympie since the last major flood, there has been almost no noticeable community reaction.
No expression of mild dissatisfaction, let alone justifiable outrage, at a community health decision the Council was incompetent to make.
This heavy pall of communal apathy is what makes being a Gympie Regional Councillor the safest sinecure in Australia.
– Merv Welch
The Palms
