Blue Mountains Councillor wears many hats
Blue Mountains Councillor wears many hats
Councillor Searle is quoted in the Blue Mountains Gazette (24 May 2011) as stating that he has no intention of stepping down from his Council position and intends to see out his current term.
Furthermore, according to the Gazette, he intends to continue practising as a barrister while holding down both the Blue Mountains City Council and NSW Upper House roles.
Meanwhile at the state level, the Daily Telegraph (25 June 2011) reports that four state MPs who currently also hold local government positions will soon quit their Council roles.
The Mayors of Camden, Fairfield, Hawkesbury & Lake Macquarie all commented upon the stress of holding down two positions and the potential for conflicts of interest as their main reasons for resigning their Council roles.
The Telegraph reports that the Mayor of Bathurst is also considering a similar move, but notes that Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, also a state MP, will not be following suit.
Do you think that MP / Councillor Searle can, or should hold down both an Upper House and Blue Mountains City Council role while providing adequate representation at both levels?
Your comments are very welcome.
Image: www.sxc.hu/photo/974937
Comments
One Opinion: posts
Hats off!, to Clr Searle! I am grateful that the residents of the Blue Mountains will not be forced to bear the cost of a bi-election, when an election is only months away. Clr Searle is an extremly capable and professional representative of the people. Clr Searle has proved himself to be adept, proficient and responsible in serving the community. True, the glass is more than half full: and the electorate will no doubt benefit from effective advocacy and representation from Clr/MP Searle.
Leura Blue posts
I'm six of one, half a dozen of the other. Yes, it saves the by-election cost - which is not small but on the other hand, I think it's better to do one thing well than two things poorly. It's a lot for any one person to manage and some very capable people have put up their hands and said it's just not feasible. But I guess it's a call for Councillor Searle and we have to wait and see the outcome.
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