The Editor,
Tasmanian Times
Letter to the Editor,
TO ALL HUON VALLEY RESIDENTS
I am writing this letter, as a councillor, to report on what I believe to be the status of our council, and to draw attention to the reforms I promised to work for when I campaigned successfully to win election as your Mayor and a Councillor last year.
I believe the people want their elected councillors to work together professionally and cohesively. All of us have the right to opinions and visions for our valley, which, of course, means we must grapple with a diversity of viewpoints as we search for consensus. To achieve this, we must always respect each other’s views, and we must learn to work together in a positive and constructive manner.
Since becoming Mayor, I have tried to create an environment in which each of us is free to air our ideas. With regret, I report that I believe council is fast becoming dysfunctional. My role as Mayor is continually obstructed, and my attempts to achieve the much needed reform that I campaigned for is continually blocked by Councillor Mike Wilson and other members of the Heart of the Huon team.
Councillor Wilson frequently misrepresents my stated policies, and works to undermine my role as Mayor. For example, his advertisement in this newspaper last week (June 24, page 7) contained errors of fact and misrepresented my policies in several respects.
This hurts all of us and denies council the opportunity to be a community leader. Councillor Wilson should respect the people’s expressed desire last October for change in council’s direction. Had they not wanted change, they surely would have elected a Heart of the Huon member as council’s leader.
If we are to make progress, we must learn from our mistakes, be honest, open and transparent in our decision making, and throw off council’s reputation for secrecy. For instance, we must not allow a repeat of secret decisions that resulted in council’s loss of some $4 million of its reserves, and years of secrecy about that loss ever since.
We must engage in true reform and be ready to work with other councils and organisations to find more efficient ways to deliver services. Above all, we must modernise.
I assure you, amalgamation is not my first preference. But if we are to avoid it, it is vital we liaise closely with neighbouring councils to rationalise our operations.
My commitment to the people of the Huon Valley is to push for this new direction and for a more inclusive community. This requires genuine consultation with the people to ensure council understands community priorities.
Investment in new infrastructure, I believe, is one of them, so we must develop the financial capacity to pay for it. We must attract new investment, build on our natural resources, identify and develop opportunities, achieve true structural reform, and create a more effective and efficient council.
Most importantly, we must work in an open, honest and cooperative way.
This is my challenge to the Heart of the Huon team.
Peter Coad,
Councillor,
Deep Bay
