There were just 10 councillors at the last meeting of Campbelltown through the week.
Three were in Japan visiting sister city Koshigaya, the mayor and deputy mayor, Cr George Brticevic, Cr Meg Oates and a third Labor member, Cr Margaret Chivers.
Two Liberal councillors were also missing in action last Tuesday night: Cr Ralph George and Cr Ted Rowell.
Cr George’s was a once off absence, whereas Cr Rowell has gone on leave for the next few weeks.
Campbelltown Council has 15 councillors, so eight would be needed for a quorum to make sure meetings go ahead.
It’s rare that five are missing from one meeting and it certainly has not happened in the past three years.
It’s also worth noting that last Tuesday, with both the mayor and the deputy mayor away, another Labor member, Cr Darcy Lound stepped up to the mark as acting mayor and chaired the meeting.
A vox pop of the small number of residents in the public gallery afterwards found that Cr Darcy did a very good job running the meeting.
xxxxx
♦ Speaking of Japan, before departing the mayor and council hosted a delegation of students from Koshigaya.
The visit was organised by the Campbelltown and Koshigaya Sister Cities Association, which has been going for more than 30 years.
In addition to a civic reception and other activities, the students also got a mayoral tour of our council’s meeting chamber.
xxxxx
♦ Speaking of mayors, Liverpool Council wants to call its own, Lord Mayor.
It has voted to support the Lord Mayor bid and asked the State Government to give it the green light.
With a Labor mayor, Wendy Waller, in power, it has left local residents who care what goes on in Liverpool a little perplexed.
“The irony of it all’’, Ian Bailey wrote in a note to the Voice.
“I could not help thinking about the time-wasting activities of political interests at both ends of the hierarchical ladder.
“Only a week or so ago, the Leader of Federal Opposition, Bill Shorten, son-in-law to a Dame of the realm, raised the idea that Australia should be a Republic.
“We are not Elizabethans’’ he said, “we are Australians.
“Last week at Liverpool Council’s monthly meeting, one of the agenda items was to vote on elevating our Mayor to a Lord Mayor. The Republican versus the Royalist. Council carried the motion.
“Is it possible that one day, the managers of our country could get together and agree on a plan for the future of Australian people?
“Is it possible that one day, those same managers could spend all day thinking about the issues that matter?
What happens if Australia becomes a Republic? Does that mean all the royalists lose their titles?
“Good Lord!’’
Good lord, indeed, Mr Bailey.
xxxxx
♦ Spotted at the GIO schoolboy rugby league quarter finals at Campbelltown Sports Stadium yesterday was Luke Burt, the former Parramatta back.
Apparently he was there on talent scout duties and with eight teams on display there was plenty to see.
Including a couple of players from Campbelltown St Gregory’s College, which walloped Erindale College 58-8 to move into the semi finals.
The semis will be held at Leichhardt Oval but the final will be played at Campbelltown.
xxxxx
♦ And finally, a declaration: if you are on Facebook you may have seen a pat on the back for me for “saving’’ a koala on my way home from the council meeting on Tuesday.
I’d like to put on the record that I am no koala hero and deserve no accolade; all I did after spotting the critter walking on the side of the road was stop the car, get out and watch the koala safely cross the road and disappear into bushland.
Nor was I the only one who stopped to make sure the koala wasn’t run over or attacked by a dog; there was already another family in a car watching over the koala.
And he done a really great job well spoken and I could hear him in the gallery. Fix the sound system in the chambers