I want to thank those readers who responded to my article in your paper on Saturday 11th July, The Kingmaker and his abuse of the Crown.
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I also received many phone calls and emails thanking me for raising the issues and asking the questions.
That really was, after all, the intent of my article.
Central to my piece was a desire for people to consider the changes in the new Local Government Act 2020, given it was implemented by the former Minister for Local Government, Adem Somyurek.
Somyurek has since been sacked as a Minister, dumped from the Labor Party and his behaviours in relation to alleged branch-stacking and forgery are now the focus of multiple investigatory agencies, including Victoria Police.
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However, what seems to have caused the most angst - even to this paper - was my discussion about the Act's new requirement for Councillors to consider climate change as an 'overarching governance principle' in all our decision making.
I didn't take a position on climate change - I merely asked which science it is that we should be guided by when making our decisions, again, those 'who say the sky is falling, or those who argue it hasn't, and won't'.
This question has got nothing to do with my view on climate change. As far as I'm concerned - and I think all scientists agree - the climate is always changing. It always has, it always will. It is the science I was asking the question about.
I briefly discussed Michael Shellenberger - an author, Time Magazine's 'Hero of the Environment' in 2008 and Environment Advisor to the former US Democratic President Barack Obama.
I included Mr Shellenberger in the article merely to indicate that even some of the lead people in the environmental movement are themselves changing their minds and reasserting their efforts on other environmental challenges they see as more critical.
For those who have labelled me one thing or another - that is fine.
I am simply grateful that I was able to ask some questions and get our community thinking about what it is that councillors are required to do under the new Act.
Thinking and debating are really important to our democracy.
Cr Jim Rinaldi, City of Ballarat
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