A message from the Mayor: Frustrating democracy

Published on 14 June 2022

The NSW Electoral Commission has announced that the by-election for eight Kempsey Shire Councillor positions will be held on Saturday 30 July.

The whole saga of the iVote system failure and the decision of the Supreme Court of NSW to void the December election has left a sour taste in all our mouths. 

Like many people, I have found the whole process frustrating and anger inducing. The present Councillors rightly feel very upset that they must dedicate their time, energy and money to another election campaign just seven months after they were told they had been successfully elected.

Even though we may find this distasteful, we are a country of laws that must be followed. We must find the positive in the fact that going through this a second time is evidence of community support for our essential democratic processes. 

So please consider all the nominated candidates and remember to vote on Saturday 30 July.

Roads on the agenda

On Monday 6 June I attended the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia 2022 Local Roads Congress along with our Director of Operations and Planning.  

The financing of road projects has been complicated by natural disasters and timelines imposed by the Government.

Some highlights:

• There is a high and critical need for more civil engineers to be employed in the Local Government sector.
• The reclassification of Kempsey-Armidale Road as a state road has been agreed, but the handover has not yet occurred.
• There will be another round of Fixing Local Road Grants this year which provides us with a fresh opportunity to secure funding for Kempsey’s much needed road repairs.

Legacy

It was an honour for me to attend the Legacy Handover Lunch at Stuarts Point recently. 

Legacy is an outstanding community organisation of volunteers in which ex-service personnel look after families of other ex-service personnel in need. 

More volunteers are needed. Anyone who would like to help please contact Legacy at Macksville on 6598 8501.

Next year will be the centenary of Legacy’s establishment and to celebrate there will be a torch relay across Australia visiting the 44 Legacy Associations (there is also one in London!). We hope to welcome this event in our Shire.