Fucking. Hell.
If Newcastle Council were a person, they would have died long ago because they would have been unable to sustain their own life. That’s how lacking they are in matters of the cognitive variety.
Last night, as you can imagine, council voted in favour of prolonging the uncertainty surrounding the Laman Street fig trees so that the rate-payers can spend another couple of thousand dollars on a report that’s unlikely to have any baring on the insurance companies assessment that the trees are too great a liability to be covered under council’s insurance.
No real surprises there. Once again, the vocal anti-everything campaigners have successfully held Newcastle to hostage because they like living in an area that’s slowly falling to bits around them and don’t see any reason as to why that should change.
But wait, it gets better.
At last night’s council meeting, one elected representative, Cr Mike Jackson, WAS NOT EVEN IN ATTENDENCE. You must be fucking kidding me?
So not only is this a council that cannot making a decision and stand by it for the sake of the city they are supposed to administrate, they cannot even get those that should be present to turn up to ensure that the council functions in its full capacity.
How much more pathetically dysfunctional can you get?
Well, it would seem that for another councillor, Newcastle Council has finally crossed the line. The Newcastle Herald is reporting that “Cr Brad Luke immediately called on the council to be sacked, and an administrator appointed”.
Al I can say to that is, HELL YES!
It was at the end of last year when calls for council’s sacking first started to be heard due to ongoing problems between the councillors, the Lord Mayor and the recently resigned General Manager.
Nearly 12 months later and it’s pretty clear to see that nothing has improved.
I have written previously about the dangers Newcastle faces if it doesn’t sort its shit out sooner rather than later, but it bears repeating.
Having Newcastle exist in a constant state of uncertainty because a dysfunctional council can’t harden its resolve against the inevitable, vocal minority that will oppose any plans to change things in town is only going to result in Newcastle becoming a decrepit, forgotten, abandoned part of the state.
No one in their right mind would bring major investment into Newcastle at the moment because there is no plan for the future, there is no chance of a plan being formulated and, even if by some fluke there was one, chances are it would never be actioned because nothing is ever actioned because council capitulate to the small group of shouty people.
It’s pathetic. It’s counter-productive. It’s destroying this place.
And it needs to stop.
