Opinion
28 October, 2026
Opinion: Speaking up not too much to expect
We elect our politicians at all three levels of government for one primary reason: to represent us. To speak up on our behalf. To ensure our voices are heard.
We elect our politicians at all three levels of government for one primary reason: to represent us.
To speak up on our behalf. To ensure our voices are heard.
They are actually paid to do that.
They draw an allowance from the public purse for doing what they promised to do.
To fight for the people that elected them.
Most voters don’t even care if their elected representatives lose a battle now and then – it’s the spirit with which they take up the fight that matters.
Their courage, their determination and their ability to clearly articulate the concerns, the hopes and the aspirations of their constituents.
Here’s my gripe.
There are a number of councillors across the region who have very little to say in council debates.
And when I say ‘little’ I mean nothing at all.
Saying ‘I’m in favour of the motion’ or ‘I’m not in favour of the motion’ or ‘Can we put this?’ isn’t a valuable contribution to debate.
It’s a cop out.
Ratepayers have a right to understand what councillors are thinking and why they are voting a particular way.
Let’s take the recent debate at Wingecarribee Shire Council over whether or not council should apply for a Special Rate Variation (SRV).
Mayor Erin Foley acknowledged when the item came up for consideration that it would be one of the most important decisions council would make.
Yet two councillors – former mayor Jesse Fitzpatrick and Cr James Farrell – had absolutely nothing to say.
Nothing whatsoever to say on the biggest issue on the minds of Wingecarribee Shire ratepayers.
No surprises there from Cr Farrell who has chosen to internalise his thought processes for the past two years.
But Cr Fitzpatrick?
This is the former mayor that pushed the SRV option for months and who said back in August (when he announced that he would not be contesting the September mayoral election) that he remained “committed to representing our community and delivering for the Wingecarribee Shire.”
But when it came time to vote on the proposed SRV – something that even council research shows the majority of ratepayers are opposed to – words failed him.
Ratepayers have every reason to feel disappointed and a tad angry that one of the spearheads of the ‘Future Funding, Stronger Shire’ campaign sat in complete silence while the matter was debated and a vote taken.
They deserve better than that.
It’s not a problem confined to the Wingecarribee Shire.
Across the region we have a number of councillors who rarely feel the need to open their mouths or engage in any meaningful debate.
They can sit through an entire meeting without hardly uttering a word.
Some of them, admittedly, didn’t expect to be elected and would probably be somewhere else -but that doesn’t excuse their abject failure to fulfil some basic responsibilities as representatives of the people.
I accept that many councillors work tirelessly behind the scenes and that they can’t be judged solely on their performance at council meetings.
But spending countless hours talking to ratepayers or reading business papers and reports is time wasted unless a councillor can present an argument in the chamber and defend it.
That can be part of an amicable discussion as we see at some councils or a more robust debate as we some at others.
Silence shows disinterest, disconnect and disregard and like it or not councillors will ultimately be judged by what they say – or what they don’t say – in the council chamber.
People don’t won’t to see councillors sitting in silence. They don’t want to see councillors reading from pre-prepared (and sometimes AI-assisted) statements and they don’t want to see debates constantly interrupted by points of order.
They want to see meaningful and robust debate from people who are genuinely invested in their communities and in the roles they have been elected to fill.
It’s not too much to ask.
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