Patricia Hellier - 13 September 2022
Patricia Hellier presented to Council at the Public Access Session on 13 September 2022.
PUBLIC ACCESS 13th SEPTEMBER 2022
Good Morning Mayor, Councillors, General Manager, Staff, Gallery and those comfortable Live Streaming at home my name is Patricia Heller from Bate mans Bay.
Councillors I drawn your attention to Part 1 of the COMP 1.1 “The community has confidence that Councillors and staff act ethically and make decisions in the interest of the WHOLE community”.
I listen and watch the body language of Councillors during recent Council Meetings and I have come to the conclusion there are some Councillors I believe are captivated with “speakers” that come into this gallery that “have a title or represent an organisation” and repeatedly I have heard one particular Councillor make reference in summing up of a motion to these individuals, and yet ALL speakers are suppose to be treated equally.
1.1“Decisions are made and based on comprehensive, relevant, quality information” and yet I have seen questions directed to Director Usher he has given his advise and I believe his advise has been ignored by a least six of the Councillors.
I believe some statements by certain Councillors are “being made on the run” and yet when challenged the words of the challenger are ignored. It has been noted that one Councillors appears to turn her light on and then proceeds to speak without taking it thru the Mayor and has been known to speaks over the Mayor.
Mayor and Councillors the facts are the Councillor who received the most individual votes in the last Council election came from the “conservative area of voters of this shire”.
As I have stated in this gallery the majority of you Councillors stood on “openness and transparency” and it has been stated by a Councillor words to the affect “we want to take the community with us” given some of the motions that have been past at recent Council meeting by at least six of the Councillors I believe these words “openness and transparency and taking the community with us” are just that “words” without taking such item out for community consultation.
The facts are over the years come Council Election time we have seen large turnover of Councillors BUT at no stage have the new Councillors whilst still learning “the ropes so to speak” been continually inflicted with motions from a Political Factions.
Politics is in play in this chamber and I believe that certain Councillors are trying to inflict their political agenda on Councillors and the voters of this shire and yet none of these items were taken to the voter prior to the December 2021 Council Election.
Two weeks ago I placed a Letter to the Editor of the Bay Post – since then I have been approached and contacted by a number of people who were not aware as to the most recent motions and results that has been put forward on Council Agendas.
It is commonly known that I organised the largest shire wide meeting with 504 people in attendance and I drove the petition that saw over 11,000 signature against the SRV and to be quite honest given what had been said to me about these recent motions that have been put forward by Political Factions within this current Council, in all the 12 years that I have sat in Council Meetings I have never seen such a unrest this early in a new Council term.
Patricia Heller