QUO VADIS............(Where do you go? York Voters)

We should all try to remember that the days of electing your next-door neighbour, the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker to a local Shire Council disappeared in the early 21st Century, particularly in the politicized, but politically ill-nurtured and ignored Wheatbelt Region.

A number of State Government decisions on autonomy in the past two decades mean that, these days, potential councillors should bring acuity to the table, accountancy and business skills, legal advocacy, academic discipline, exemplary communication skills, probity and more-- because nobody else will. (They are directions that some Senior Public Servants in the current Shire of York Administration may be unable to spell, let alone perform, mainly because of their lack of professional qualifications.)  

The Shire of York is a $9 million per- annum, virtually guaranteed income business, if it collects the rates. So its new council must be a Board of Socio-Economic Business Directors, not a septic septet of dysfunctional, narcissistic homies as it has been at times- in the past- and when a sextet.

York is by far the worst performing historic inland town of its type in Australia, particularly in the promotion of its unique cultural entity to tourists. If you think this is not correct, do yourself a favour, get off your butt, venture forth and visit similar towns such as Daylesford, Richmond and Hahndorf-then answer the question.

The new council must have the ability to perform all the required functions on its own, without the support of any Government Department or agency in the rejuvenation of York’s tourism industry in particular.

The Minister for Tourism, (and Health), Kim Hames, ( who is not related to the Hames of the notorious Hames Sharley) is like the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dyke, trying to stave off a healthcare catastrophe. Currently Premier, Colin Barnett, appears to be the spokesman taking centre stage in announcing major new WA tourism initiatives.

The Tourism WA marketing guru, Stephanie Buckland, has just come up with an incredibly innovative, cutting edge, tourism marketing cook-up coup- a major, Western Australian, wine and food promotion over the next four years.

A sort of  ‘Master Chef’ at Margaret River and a ‘My Kitchen Rules’ on Rottnest. A unique promotional tribute to the marvels of quality mastication and quintessential quaffing that could easily be master-classed as passé and deja-vu. How many actual tourists it will entice is anybody’s guess.

The newspeak ‘visioning’ and ‘ideation’ have certainly inserted themselves into the psyche of government funded agencies, taking over from good old fashioned  innovation and lateral thinking.

One of Ms. Buckland's newspeak, quotable, catch-phrases is the very old ‘paddock to plate’. This dates back to the European Agrarian Revolution of 200 years ago. One, that is a bit closer to our time, the ‘Slow Food Convivium’, founded in Italy in 1986, does not get a mention.

York was the Swan River Colony’s, historic ‘paddock to plate’ saviour and could easily become a renowned, Australian, niche Slow Food Convivium, but will not get a mention because it is neither the Metropolitan Area or the South-West Wine Region where most of Tourism WA’s promotion and marketing dollar goes. (This qualified spending on easily promoted regions is just your basic, comfortable, no-risk, often ‘El Cheapo’ Tourism WA visioning and ideation, not rocket science.)

Mr. Barnett said recently that ‘the Federal Government has got it wrong in marketing regions rather than specific destinations. Mr. Barnett should have checked first with Ms. Buckland. York, Northam and Toodyay, rural towns in the Avon Valley/ Wheatbelt region, as well as Lancelin and New Norcia are all lumped together as part of Tourism WA’s ‘Experience Perth’, arguably a specific destination.

So, in theory at least, a Region can actually be a Specific Destination according to Tourism WA. And the most ‘El Cheapo’ way of spending some limited tourism promotion that will be like getting blood from a stone be regions?, or specific destinations?.

Try specific destinations, and York will not be one of them. And, with hindsight, being part of Experience Perth has not done York any favours.

Earlier this year a letter was sent to the Deputy Premier of Western Australia, Minister for Health; Tourism, the Hon. Kim Hames. It reiterated York’s historic town tourism potential and its need for resurrection as a unique tourism destination.

The answer was ‘I agree that York’s historic past should be a catalyst for a brighter future, however , any proposals to reinvigorate tourism within the town must be driven by the town itself if any initiatives, whether privately or publically funded, are to have a sustainable impact.

Mr. Hames was made fully aware of the damage done to the tourist industry in York, by the Shire of York and its administration, but as expected chose to make it the peoples problem, not a political, government agency mal-administration one. 

So York’s tourism renaissance will only occur if York elects an astute, academically qualified, highly committed council. These candidates are there for you to chose.

Or you can take a punt and wait until just before the State Election, March 11, 2017, when the Local Member, Mia Who, may rock up to try and cadge a few votes by doing something. Then again- maybe not, she is the current Minister for Water, Sport and Recreation, Forestry & Allusion.

One thing that does stand out as October 17, 2015 draws near is some of the personalized comments made on one of York’s online blogs. It shows up a ‘kinda embarrassing, Hillbilly culture, lacking in cognitive thought processes. “Sorta like the ‘My Ma, is my Pa’s sister’, so I’m the Village Idiot’
syndrome and makes you wonder why anyone would wish to represent these ‘anonymice’ for any reason.

DAVID TAYLOR
YORK RATEPAYER.