The Mayor of Ballina, Sharon Cadwallader, has responded to her fellow councillor Jeff Johnson’s comments in The Echo this morning, using some equally piquant language.
‘It’s quite sad to see one of my fellow councillors attack our highly respected council and calling for it it to be sacked, just because the Greens Party didn’t get their desired outcome on a couple of issues,’ she said. (Note: Jeff Johnson is not actually a Green, but an independent).
‘In my almost two decades serving on Ballina Shire Council, I’ve seen mayors use their casting votes many times, but I’ve never witnessed a councillor who didn’t get his way behaving in such a petulant manner and bringing the organisation he serves into such disrepute,’ continues Mayor Cadwallader.
‘On the Conservation Zones, Councillor Eva Ramsey led the move to try and get an outcome for Ballina Shire that reflected the successful approach taken by Lismore City Council.
‘That approach recognises that conservation on private land works best when it is done cooperatively. The Lismore Scheme was devised by former Greens Mayor Vanessa Ekins and has been accepted by the NSW Government.
‘That doesn’t mean that Ballina Shire will be abandoning Conservation Zones or won’t have the power to impose them where the need arises, as we did in a unanimous decision on the controversial Burns Point Fery Road site.
‘I make no apology for using my casting vote to get an outcome that supports our landowners, farmers and koala champion and threatened species conservation ecologist Maria Matthes who was awarded Ballina Shire’s 2021 Environmental Award and 2022 Ballina Shire Citizen of the Year. As Maria said in her deputation to council “this IS about conservation, not about conservation zones.”
‘Why wouldn’t I use my casting vote that reduces costs to ratepayers, protects food security and encourages conservation?’
Ward boundaries issue
‘On the ward boundaries, Councillor Bruem led this reform to remove confusion and better comply with the requirements of the NSW Electoral Commission,’ says Mayor Cadwallader.
‘It’s unfortunate that Cr Johnson believes this decision to change the boundaries will disadvantage him as a Cumbalum resident, however the rules are not made to advantage or disadvantage any councillor.
‘Contrary to claims made by the Greens and often repeated by The Echo, the independent councillors elected on my ticket at the last election act independently and vote independently. The voting record shows this. They are not part of a party or a voting bloc. None are members of a political party and the majority never have been.
‘Only three (Bruem, Ramsey and Buchanan) of the nine serving councillors were elected with my direct support, so it is a nonsense to suggest there is a dominant “Cadwallader” bloc. Those councillors only win debates by putting forward good policies and reflecting what the community wants. Ultimately, they need to gain the support of the majority in the chamber.
‘They did on these two issues, gaining the support of Councillor Johnston on the C Zones and Councillor McCarthy on the boundary reforms. That is how councils are meant to work and that is how Ballina Council works. For Councillor Jeff Johnson to pretend otherwise is ridiculous.
‘I hope to support more independent councillors at the next election and will do so based on what they contribute to the community. This stands in stark contrast to the Greens voting bloc, who always votes as a bloc and only seems interested in playing politics, at the most despicable and personal level.’
So ends Mayor Cadwallader’s missive.
Blocs
As for ‘the ‘Greens voting bloc’, it can be seen from the Echo‘s reporting of Ballina Council over the last few years that the two current Greens councillors, Simon Chate and Kiri Dicker, do not always vote together on issues, though they usually do, as would be expected.
The independent Cr Jeff Johnson does not always vote with them, although he is often aligned with Green positions.
As for the independence of other councillors, party memberships are not always known, but independence can be a slippery and changing concept. Ballina’s independent Cr Rod Bruem, for example, has stood as a Nationals candidate in the past and until recently was media adviser to local federal Nationals representative Kevin Hogan, according to his own LinkedIn page.
More stories about Ballina Shire Council:
Menacing dog declaration revoked
After an emotional deputation from the owner of the dog involved, Ballina Shire Council has this morning revoked a menacing dog declaration for the kelpie Lilo, which was brought into effect following a bite in July 2022.
Cr McCarthy versus the macaranga
This morning Ballina Shire Council will hear a motion from Cr Steve McCarthy to remove the native macaranga tree from the list of approved species for planting by Ballina Council and local community groups.
The bridges of Ballina Council
Ballina Shire Council has started preliminary investigation works at Fishery Creek Bridge, on River Street, and Canal Bridge, on Tamarind Drive, as part of their plan to duplicate both bridges.
Ballina Greens announce ticket for 2024
Aiming to build on their two existing councillors, the Ballina Greens have announced their team of candidates for the upcoming Ballina Shire Council elections, set for 14 September this year.
Third village for Alstonville Plateau?
A proposal to assess the viability of a third village on the Alstonville Plateau was discussed at Ballina Shire Council's last meeting.
Unfortunately you get what you vote for here- failed candidates like bruem and cadwaller or the invisible councillor from Wardell.
As a journalist by trade, I do find the Echo’s commitment to good old fashioned concepts of balance and fairness in journalism to be interesting. (For want of a more piquant word).
You never mention the important fact that Jeff Johnson was the Greens mayoral candidate at the last election and lost to Sharon Cadwallader. Without disclosing that important fact, you leave your readers in the dark.
For the record, I was never a Nationals candidate. I did seek preselection in what was meant to be a community preselection process for the seat of Lismore, but I was unsuccessful. I have worked for long periods for an independent (progressive) Federal MP and 3 Liberal Ministers. I’m not ashamed of this and I don’t hide from the facts.
Oh dear Rod, I do seem to recall that you and the whole Cadwallader “team” went to great lengths to hide the fact that you all had quite a history with the Libs and Nats during the campaign.
Balance, Rod? Looking at your comments and voting not much. As for balance why don’t comment on the Murdoch press? Gerrymandering is not balance.
The is a convention called Speaker Denison’s rule that state the casting vote by the chair should only be used to maintain the status quo and for no other reason. The mayor is clearly in breach of this rule by siding with councillors of her own so called bloc. With council so evenly divided along ideological lines then the mayor’s casting vote is likely to be used many times over. What a undemocratic mess.