Letters to the Editor
23 September, 2025
Letter to the editor
From Raymond Khoury, Southern Highlands
Dear Editor
Stuart Carless’ articulate report 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 raises questions about civic responsibility, accountability and transparency.
Councillor Sara Moylan’s motion to increase Council meetings from monthly to fortnightly is praiseworthy. It is reassuring to have a Councillor who takes her civic responsibilities seriously. The defeat of Councillor Moylan’s motion revealed a dismissal attitude to civic responsibility, accountability and transparency.
She correctly argued that good decision making cannot be made in protracted meetings that go late in the evening. Moreover, new time constraints pressure Councillors to speak less and quicker.
Section 13 of the Code of Meeting Practice allows Councillors to adopt agenda items without discussion. As Councillor Moylan astutely pointed out, rushed meetings ‘forces’ Councillors to approve more and more items without any debate, which is a concerning trend.
Labor Councillor David Kent’s opposition was weak. Recently, Councillor Kent abstained from supporting Moss Vale TAFE reinstating HSC courses for disadvantaged, but highly intelligent students. This is a contradiction to his statement ‘We are here to deliver for the people of the Shire’.
It is concerning that Councillor Kent argued that Councillors should ‘discuss(ing) items and exchanging ideas with their fellow Councillors before meetings’. Council meetings are open to the public and streamed live to the community to ensure transparency. If decisions are made behind closed doors, what is the point of holding these meetings at all? This lack of accountability and transparency may be standard practice in a socialist/communist country, but democracy rules in Australia (at least for the time being).
Councillor Rachel Russell reminded Councillor Kent that, at the May meeting, he presented information of which she had no knowledge, despite their pre-meeting communications. She further noted that the Minister for Local Government wants Councillors to have open discussions, and to be accountable ‘with our reasoning for the community’.
To the best of my knowledge, no Councillor was forced into their role against their will. Having accepted civic office, they are obligated to abide by their legal and moral obligations. Anything else is unacceptable to the community.
Raymond Khoury, Southern Highlands
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