Climate Matters: Hills Shire

  Someone close to me saw the letterbox flyer for one of the political parties standing for election to council in the North Ward.  They saw four smiling, relatively young fresh faces and some fine, flowery short bios.  And they commented "They look like a nice, bright, hard-working group of young people.  Seems like a better option than some of the dinosaurs on the present council." I fell off my chair. But I continued the conversation, even from my position flat on the floor... So, are they "nice"?  I don't personally know any of them and I couldn't say.  Nor can most of you, I expect.  It doesn't matter much - it's what they stand for that matters. Are they bright and hard-working?  Very probably, I imagine.  And so too (I imagine) are many of the candidates - from other parties and the independents.  These are important attributes for anybody seeking public office - but it's not enough - it's what they work for that really counts. Are t

Pictured: Clive Palmer at a "freedom" rally in November 2021   Mr Jerzy (George) Rozycki is an independent candidate in the Hills Shire elections.  He is standing both for Mayor and for councillor in the North Ward. Mr Rozycki responded to our candidate questionnaire and we thank him for that.  He responded Yes to the three multiple-choice questions but did not provide any further climate or other policy statements. And on his campaign Facebook page he includes this statement: “3. review and adopt the best livable climate future for The Hills Shire.” But is this the whole story? Our candidate questionnaire responses are useful up to a point.  But, in the case of Mr Rozycki, we fear it conceals a truth that is contrary to our purpose. We cannot say whether or not Mr Rozycki responded to our questions sincerely - in the broad continuum of opinion there is considerable room for nuance.  But here is our advice: The candidate’s stated membership of United Australia Party and his p

  The responses to our candidate questionnaire are in. We have collated the results and they are available now. Of the 40 candidates standing in the Hills Shire Election, we are happy to report: 19 of 21 Labor and Greens candidates responded 4 of 6 ungrouped candidates responded Less positively, we regret to report that NONE of the 13 Liberal candidates responded. And now to the results.  There are two elections on the day and voters will receive two ballot papers: One to elect one Mayor, from among five candidates; And one to elect THREE councillors in your ward (there are four wards, electing a total of 12 councillors altogether). So the candidate responses are contained in five separate documents.  You will need to refer to two of them: the Mayoral candidate responses AND the Councillor candidate responses for your ward. If you wish to you can download or print the documents from the links provided below. Mayoral Candidates Click here to open the Mayoral candidate responses: Questio

  Who doesn't love a TWS?  That's a "three word slogan" to you.  They're a great way to express allegiance - your tribal identity:  GIANTS For Ever .    HOLDEN Rules the Mountain .  I Love Cake . [That last one is mine.  I'm thinking of getting some badges made - message me if you're interested!] But, on social and political issues, they are also deployed to distract and deflect, to obfuscate, to suppress discussion of a complex issue.  Purveyors of such messages do so in order to remain unaccountable.  They exploit tribal allegiances (including in compliant media) to promulgate and amplify these messages in order to avoid, obstruct and shut-down intelligent, thoughtful debate about the issues of the day.  They invite people to take the easy path of accepting simplistic and deceitful responses, thereby delegating their thinking to others.  In short they lie. Roads, Rates and Rubbish Three word slogans frequently contain a grain of truth.  And in so doing t