Cr Josh Black

With Council now halfway through their current four-year term, Dubbo Photo News decided to quiz a few of our elected representatives on how well the current team is delivering for our hard-working ratepayers, with mayor Josh Black first cab-off-the-rank.

He believes that the current chamber has successfully balanced rigorous back-and-forth with a collegiate atmosphere.

“We’re getting great outcomes, we’ve had some robust debates, but everyone is very respectful to each other,” Cr Black said between bites of a hurried lunch.

“As an elected official, you’ve got a right to have your say; you’re not a doormat and you’re allowed to disagree with people,” he added.

Listing the achievements of the current chamber, he highlighted an initiative that is actually in a somewhat doubtful hiatus at the moment.

“Let’s say one of our long-term projects… the Wiradjuri Cultural Tourism Centre.

“I know we voted to reject the current tenders, but we’ve got a way forward to deliver the project in a financially-sustainable way, and we will,” he promised.

With his two-year mayoral term expiring next month, he confirmed – probably unsurprisingly – that he again intends to throw his hat into the ring.

“Oh yeah, I think I will run again as mayor if I can,” Cr Black said.

“It gives us outcomes,” he concluded.

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Cr Shibli Chowdhury

Another with a positive view of the first two years of this council term was Cr Shibli Chowdhury.

“I think there were a lot of things we have completed over these two years. We’ve all got different ideas, but we’ve been working pretty well together," he said.

He believes that – within the funding constraints and flagrant cost-shifting that local government continues to labour under – Dubbo is delivering a pretty good economic outcome for its ratepayers.

“Financially, we’re doing well, we’re managed our finances carefully – which are very healthy – we’ve looked after our money well.

“On the other hand, we don’t have a lot of extra money to do some very important projects, either; we need to get access to grants from the Federal and State Government for these capital works, but that’s not easy.”

He is quite happy with the job that Cr Black has done in the top job; and also expressed no desire to put himself forward for higher office next month as either mayor or deputy mayor.

“I think Josh has done a good job, and I’ll probably support him again as mayor,” Cr Chowdhury said.

“But there’s no way I would run, definitely not, I have a lot of family commitments already and also do a lot of volunteer work in the community,” he concluded.

•••

Cr Lukas Butler

Getting Dubbo to oppose the wholesale takeover of agricultural land in the region for renewable projects under the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), has been the highlight of the first half of this term for Cr Lukas Butler.

This included getting a resolution passed by council opposing the controversial and unpopular Boree solar power plant proposal.

“I’m quite happy with the way things have gone, especially as I got the Boree resolution over the line; the locals are not happy with the wholesale industrialisation of rural areas under the REZ,” Cr Butler said.

“To get council to oppose the ‘Boree Solar Factory’ – which is what these developments are, they‘re industrial factories – by an 8-3 vote, showed a fair bit of support for the motion,” he added.

He also said that Cr Black has done a good job in the chair, and adds that he might also throw his hat into the ring when the new team is elected.

“I’ve always found Josh quite helpful and believe that he will be returned as mayor; I’m very happy with his leadership,” Cr Butler said.

“I’m open to it – if that was a possibility and if I had the support of council – if I get the opportunity, I might possibly go for deputy mayor,” he concluded.

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Cr Richard Ivey

Less sanguine about the first two years of the current council, Wellington rep Cr Richard Ivey has confessed to being underwhelmed by the current administration, believing that staff changes at the top may have played a part in this.

“I don’t think we have achieved much, it’s been a bit of a holding pattern, though a new GM (general manager) coming-in earlier this year, inevitably stops the momentum a little bit.

“Things haven’t been as progressive and innovative as they could have been, there’s not a great deal of excitement, there hasn’t been that push for new plans, I’d like to see more innovative ideas put forward” Cr Ivey reasoned.

He said that, in opposing much of the developments under the REZ, Council has also cut itself out of the game in regards to seeking better outcomes for residents.

“The REZ was foisted upon us by the state government but, instead of complaining, we should be asking how we can maximise the benefits of renewables.

“We should have a concerted program to look at how we can earn benefits from the renewables.”

In trying to find the bright spots over the past two years, he said that it’s possibly been what hasn’t happened, rather than what has.

“There probably are some achievements but I can’t think of them, there’s been no scandals, I suppose,” Cr Ivey admitted.

“There hasn’t been any major controversies or major issues, but council could have achieved more,” he concluded.

•••

Cr Mathew Dickerson

Former longtime mayor Cr Mathew Dickerson did not even concede this point, saying that council had dropped the ball on capital works over the past two years.

“We’ve lost significant funding for a number of major projects we’ve failed to deliver on, like the Macquarie Foreshore, the Wiradjuri Centre, the PCYC Indoor Sports Hub,” Cr Dickerson said.

“These are all projects where we’re effectively having to hand the money back for grants that are incredibly hard to get at the best of times,” he added.

He contrasted this with what he said was the drive and innovation of previous council administrations.

“The one thing we got right, we made brave and bold decisions; in contrast to the last council, this one has been risk-averse, very much ‘status quo’.

“They’re not doing anything wrong, but they’re not doing enough that is right; as legendary football coach, Jack Gibson once said, ‘if you stand still, you’re going backwards,’.”

Despite his concerns, Cr Dickerson told Dubbo Photo News that he has no intention of another run at the top job next month.

“I wanted to be mayor at the last election, and I didn’t get it,” the four-times former local leader said.

“At this stage, I simply don’t think that it will be appropriate to be mayor again,” he concluded.