Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris

In September 2019, letter boxes were stuffed with election paraphernalia, roadsides were crowded with candidate signs and promises made at candidates' meetings throughout the city.

The local election saw 47 candidates competing to take one of eleven seats on Council; yet 12 months later there are calls for a new election.

Some candidates clearly voiced their views on leadership, rates, growth and transportation; others were vaguer, but no one promised that, if elected, ‘observers' would need appointing, at a cost of $350,000 to ratepayers, to address ‘dysfunctional' relationships between Mayor and councillors.

Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, if a product doesn't measure up, you're entitled to a free ‘repair', ‘replacement' or ‘refund'.

I don't think ratepayers should be expected to pay for this ‘repair', so I moved that the mayor and councillors ‘refund' $350,000 from our own salaries or ask the Remuneration Authority to reduce our salaries by the same amount.

I think paying personally is about accepting responsibility and showing the leadership you're entitled to.

Opposing views included that Council spends $500m a year so the ‘relatively' small amount was a good investment in better decision-making.

More convincing was that we might be tempted to cut short the observers' stay if we're paying from our own pockets.

My motion was defeated by seven votes.

The observers will have my full cooperation.

Professional relationships must be repaired, and personal egos set aside because our community deserves this all the time; much more now we're facing the effects of Covid-19 or the Minister of Local Government may be convinced to ‘replace' Council.