Now to get on with council business

The votes have been counted, the winners announced, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor have been chosen and the photos have been taken.

It’s now time for Kiama Councillors to get down to business.

They say a new broom sweeps clean, so with the majority of councillors being fresh faces it will be good to see if there are any new ideas forthcoming.

Although the previous council is to be congratulated for its take on community decisions, it could be argued that it also was somewhat boring. Or perhaps it was just conservative and careful?

That is no doubt why Kiama was the only Illawarra council left standing as the bigger Wollongong and Shellharbour councils were sacked after being tainted by corruption and bitter feuds between councillors.

And that feuding has been the downfall of many NSW councils.

Broken Hill had a council that became untenable because of a war of words between its mayor and a councillor. The NSW Government was left no choice but to sack the council and let the air clear for four years.

It was a similar situation in Shellharbour, where not only some councillors, but also community members were so disruptive the council was unable to function properly.

There was a hint in an opposition newspaper that perhaps a political alliance might invade Kiama’s new council. Mayor Sandra McCarthy has denied this.

Hopefully politics and personality clashes won’t develop and it will be all smooth sailing.

– Mark Bransdon