A NEWSLETTER circulating from the Oberon Shire Ratepayers Association is causing anger in our community.
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I tracked the newsletter down on the Oberon Community Noticeboard Facebook page. There is a lot of confused huffing and puffing and no substance.
The concerns are such that people feel Oberon's local government is once again under siege. Not by the state government, but by an undemocratic minority, part of our own community. A group so small their membership, it seems, is 14 to 16 people.
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However, I believe they are trying to undermine the council you and I elected at the last local government elections and, in my opinion, they are prepared to circulate inaccurate information in the hope that they can get us to believe in them.
I don't think so, and if you have any doubts, I strongly urge you, when they make their accusations, to take the time to speak with the mayor or councillors and you will find a very different truth, especially concerning the sale of Hathaway Cottages.
I should point out that the Anti Amalgamation committee fought 13 long years to ensure we had the right to select our own council, and the majority of the community fought alongside the committee and council as well.
Where were the members of this group then when things were tough?
Our time was given freely because we knew too well that Oberon must have its own local government. Now we find perhaps 14 people believe they know better and they are prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure the democratically elected council is made to look bad, and yet the council meets all the requirements and standards set for them, including regular and strict financial audits.
This group, the Oberon Shire Ratepayers, has not been formed democratically. How can one be expected to take them seriously when the plan appears to be to throw mud, keep throwing and hope it will stick.
We as a community, however, will not let the mud stick.
They could at the very least explain themselves properly, instead of just rattling off confusing figures and numbers hoping they have set in your mind there is something not right in council.
Do not let the rubbishy newsletter bother you; the truth will blow holes right through it. Because something appears on Facebook does not mean it is true.
In point form, I will show why I have concerns about this group:
- No public meeting was called to form this group democratically; this enables them to do what they want with no community oversight.
- They are incorporated and undertook to abide by a mission statement, but I believe they adhere to absolutely none of it. I should mention here that, as they are an incorporated body, we the community can, giving reasonable notice through DFT, ask to see the full list of their membership, their financial records and minutes.
- Their meetings, if there are any, can only be described (using someone else's words) as "secret squirrel" meetings.
- Until they do the right thing and have a public meeting to allow the majority the opportunity to make a decision as to whether we in Oberon want or do not want such a group representing us (which they claim to do) their title should be "the unelected opposition".
- Why was this group formed? Could it be they fought an issue with council and lost the battle (fluoride), and now they are losing the war because we will not let them undermine that which we fought so hard for. If you need proof, check the No Fluoride For Oberon Facebook page, the Oberon Ratepayers page and the Say No page. They share the same administrator/moderator and Oberon Ratepayers posts are shared there.
One item that has been of concern to me for quite some time is the fact that it was reported in the February 2020 Business Papers that council paid out $24,800 for legal expenses.
Now, with this group's form, one would expect this item would have at the very least caught their attention, but it did not.
Not a mention or question asked and yet this money was not grant money, it was ratepayers' money that should have been used for the community.
It concerned me so much that I made inquiries and found out this $24,800 had to be spent because a resident made complaints of misconduct against several staff and councillors.
When a complaint is received, council is obliged to have the matter investigated. This was done externally and it was revealed there was no misconduct to answer for.
I could not be told who it was that made the complaints or what the complaints were, only that this was the reason Oberon Council had to pay $24,800 of our precious money.
Please, Oberon people, unite. Let this group know that we do not need them overseeing our choice of councillors.
In September 2021, we will have the opportunity to elect our next council for a further four years.
If you believe we need a ratepayers group, then it should be done democratically with a democratically elected committee who will truly work in the best interest of Oberon.
We deserve better.
