There are a lot more byways that have
dangerous problems than just the Highway to, and from Hell.
At some stage in the very near future poor administration, lack of action, bad employment choices, lack of planning structures, asset mismanagement and financial failings will be compared to the Shire of York’s response to its community obligations and Australian/WA standards for road maintenance.
Questions have already been raised, with the CEO, Paul Martin, being given an expert tongue lashing for his alleged lack of qualifications and understanding of one of the most contentious, multi-million dollar issues he faces- the poor condition of York’s roads.
Mr Martin should realize that dangerous Shire roads and any death or serious injuries caused by their obviously neglectful disrepair is his responsibility and if something goes badly wrong- possible culpability.
It would not be the first time that a very poor regime of shire road maintenance has been the subject of both criticism and adverse findings by a Coronial Enquiry.
The excuse is often lack of funding even though there are Federal and State contributions to be accessed. In York’s case this funding has been transferred
to other failing projects, so sympathy is in short supply.
Overall- what Mr Martin and President, David Wallace, should realize is how closely their individual performance, in their specific roles, is currently being monitored. This is on all counts- not just the risky, bitumen bungling business.
Both should understand that neither are particularly good communicators and in both cases any recalcitrant, mind-numbing silence is not golden. There are no such things as bad questions- just the lack of timely, appropriate answers.
And questions can be asked- when the answers are already known. This is called a “Fishing Trip” when the answer is already sitting in the frying pan.
Then can come the fiery response
Both men should also realize that no information and or communications are sacrosanct. In this age billions of gigabytes of data is floating around ready to be located, sourced and used- often by Social Media.
Recently the word stultified was used to describe the Shire of York Councillors.
Stultify is not a derogative comment regarding any group or individual. It is a rather sad rationalization and realization of councillor awareness, that, inexplicably, some may be suppressed- and impeded from their duties by the fact that important Shire matters are being withheld from them, arguably deliberately.
Many important communications to the Shire of York appear to be directed just to the President and CEO- meaning they get to choose who to tell and who to keep in the dark. If cc’d to councillors- it is to specific individuals, rarely to all.
What appears to be now part of these communications is both unhealthy for the community and undemocratic for ratepayers, as all councillors must make all the important decisions on behalf of their electors and in the community interest.
Otherwise why bother to elect them.
It could be suggested to be ‘cronyism’ but that is not correct unless it is now a male dominated cronyism with a gender bias.
The councillor’s names that important correspondence is directed to are known. Who miss out is also known.
The names of the chosen are immaterial other than being directly linked to any future major turmoil that is kept from those who have a democratic, unalienable right to be included.
Remember in local government it must be All for All- not one or two for All- or for just a few.
David Taylor.
 |
| They call this the Terminator- your Shires purpose built stairway to heaven |
At some stage in the very near future poor administration, lack of action, bad employment choices, lack of planning structures, asset mismanagement and financial failings will be compared to the Shire of York’s response to its community obligations and Australian/WA standards for road maintenance.
Questions have already been raised, with the CEO, Paul Martin, being given an expert tongue lashing for his alleged lack of qualifications and understanding of one of the most contentious, multi-million dollar issues he faces- the poor condition of York’s roads.
Mr Martin should realize that dangerous Shire roads and any death or serious injuries caused by their obviously neglectful disrepair is his responsibility and if something goes badly wrong- possible culpability.
It would not be the first time that a very poor regime of shire road maintenance has been the subject of both criticism and adverse findings by a Coronial Enquiry.
The excuse is often lack of funding even though there are Federal and State contributions to be accessed. In York’s case this funding has been transferred
to other failing projects, so sympathy is in short supply.
Overall- what Mr Martin and President, David Wallace, should realize is how closely their individual performance, in their specific roles, is currently being monitored. This is on all counts- not just the risky, bitumen bungling business.
Both should understand that neither are particularly good communicators and in both cases any recalcitrant, mind-numbing silence is not golden. There are no such things as bad questions- just the lack of timely, appropriate answers.
And questions can be asked- when the answers are already known. This is called a “Fishing Trip” when the answer is already sitting in the frying pan.
Then can come the fiery response
Both men should also realize that no information and or communications are sacrosanct. In this age billions of gigabytes of data is floating around ready to be located, sourced and used- often by Social Media.
Recently the word stultified was used to describe the Shire of York Councillors.
Stultify is not a derogative comment regarding any group or individual. It is a rather sad rationalization and realization of councillor awareness, that, inexplicably, some may be suppressed- and impeded from their duties by the fact that important Shire matters are being withheld from them, arguably deliberately.
Many important communications to the Shire of York appear to be directed just to the President and CEO- meaning they get to choose who to tell and who to keep in the dark. If cc’d to councillors- it is to specific individuals, rarely to all.
What appears to be now part of these communications is both unhealthy for the community and undemocratic for ratepayers, as all councillors must make all the important decisions on behalf of their electors and in the community interest.
Otherwise why bother to elect them.
It could be suggested to be ‘cronyism’ but that is not correct unless it is now a male dominated cronyism with a gender bias.
The councillor’s names that important correspondence is directed to are known. Who miss out is also known.
The names of the chosen are immaterial other than being directly linked to any future major turmoil that is kept from those who have a democratic, unalienable right to be included.
Remember in local government it must be All for All- not one or two for All- or for just a few.
David Taylor.
I had thought that this is the way things are here in York at least. Very disappointing! The ratepayers also rarely adequately consulted on most matters.
ReplyDeleteUltimately the responsibility lies with council.
ReplyDeleteIf they choose to employ a CEO with zero competence in road asset management then they are just as culpable as the CEO himself.
An informed council makes good decisions, I believe the 2016 Talis report accepted by the current council is very precise in its identification of ongoing risk.
Council is now informed and obligated to make the required decisions to correct the problems.
OMG, I wouldn’t want to be riding a motorcycle at 110 kms per hour into sun casting shadows across the road and suddenly be faced with that gravel. In that situation the instinct is to slow down but slowing down tends to load the front suspension and the steering becomes heavier. Like a small boat in the water, backing off the throttle lowers the front of the boat into the water. A motorcycle does exactly the same thing and is most noticeable in gravel. If you roll off the throttle abruptly and touch the brake, the front-end dives making steering sluggish and heavy. When cornering there is every chance the front wheel will lose traction on gravel since it’s akin to riding on marbles, and those trees are pretty unforgiving.
ReplyDeleteIf a ratepayer wants to build a toilet or small shed they are required to produce a set of drawings certified by a chartered professional engineer.
ReplyDeleteSurely when the shire builds several hundred thousand dollars worth of new road they should be required to produce a set of certified plans to protect the community from liability arrising from poor construction and design.
Who certified this death trap.
A local shearer summed it up concisely last April when it was built "what sort of fool builds a road like that"
Now there’s an oxymoron if ever I heard one, a ‘shearer’ summing up something ‘concisely’, must have been before the first VB was skulled at smoko.
DeleteI'm amazed no one has thought to put a 'Road Narrows' sign 100 metres before the hazard.
ReplyDelete