From the office of ROLAND ROCCHICCIOLI

LOCAL council governance creep is a disturbing malaise covertly contaminating local government chambers across the Nation. It is motivated by undercover political party allegiance, and rigid personal ideological grandstanding.

It is transforming our municipal chambers from practical service providers into expensive, amateur, micro-parliaments erroneously believing they have a mandate — wrought by their incumbency!

Local council is not a third tier of government. It does not hold a sovereign mandate; nor is it a theatre for global statecraft. It is a statutory corporation — explicitly manufactured by state parliament to perform practical, localised administrative functions; a honed exercise in utility — not a ratepayer-funded pulpit for gross self-aggrandisement.

There has been a seismic shift in councillor profile. Increasingly, the incumbent is not a community-minded servant but a career-oriented activist. The stipend is negligible; consequently, the field sometimes narrows to those seeking the title but not the responsibility — or with an eye fixed on the glittering prize — a future parliamentary career. For some — it is a platform to espouse conspiratorial theories and dubious ideologies — a soapbox for “having my say!”

A reconnaissance of council agenda exposes an ominous shift in primacies. There is an alacrity for debating international treaties, drafting declarations on global geopolitics, funding bespoke social-engineering missions, and interfering in complex macro-issues wholly divorced from municipal boundaries — and which are legally and financially the categorical jurisdiction of state and federal governments. Councillors debating an overseas conflict — however laudable — is time stolen from addressing cracked footpaths, homelessness, zoning gridlocks, or a lack of arts facilities.

The subterfuge is not an innocent distraction. Overreach is a distraction with dangerous operational consequences. When councillors delusionally believe they have been touched by the Cosmos with universal expertise — a textbook case of epistemic hubris — even trespass — they inevitably begin to interfere beyond their remit. Councillors’ readiness to micromanage the CEO, regulate professional administration staff, and dictate local law enforcement is inappropriate. Persistent meddling creates administrative paralysis — alienates skilled council staff — and degrades the efficacy of council’s operational mechanism.

As factions fragment and agendas harden, the temptation to overreach and manipulate administration is exponential. Council has become a pulpit for personal agendas, diminishing the duty of stewardship — a determination which — arguably — collides with the law. The State Local Government Act unequivocally draws a distinct, statutory line between the strategic role of elected councillors and the operational role of the council administration — led by the CEO. Unambiguously, councillors have no legal authority to direct frontline staff; micromanage municipal rangers; or to interfere in local law enforcement — imprudently petitioning government for more police.

Self-aggrandisement is perilous. When council focus drifts, infrastructure rots. When councillors interfere, governance fragments. Let it not be forgotten — council authority is gifted by the voter and state parliament. The budget is a gift of the local ratepayer. Neither group has an appetite for vanity projects while basic services decline.

Demonisation does nothing to advance the narrative; however, if councillors lust to solve international crises — or rewrite social policy — they should pack their bags, resign, and run for parliament. If they stay, they must abandon the hubris — check egos at the door — and commit to performing the essential work for which they were elected.

The disquieting, unfolding spectacle is a divergent brand of epistemic trespass and ideological hubris. Some councillors have lost sight of who and what they are — mostly because they are addicted to what they are not!

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