By MICHAEL SLOVANOS
THE fact that an outspoken regional councillor gets re-elected but is banned from entering council premises should tell us something about the culture of so-called “local government” in Australia.
Or is it a matter of a privileged political class within a community not being able to handle a very gutsy and outspoken man on a mission who doesn’t buy into their narratives?
Councillor Andrew Thaler of Snowy Monaro Regional Council is described by the local media at best as “controversial” but also “a serial pest” by the Sydney Morning Herald because he gets in the face of council bureaucrats and the local political class – which includes a fair number of women – ex-councillors, former state and cabinet MPs, and former and present Snowy Monaro councillors.
At worst we could say Thaler has a bit of a chip on his shoulder but what red-blooded Aussie man who witnessed a political takeover of his local community wouldn’t get a bit of an attitude?
We have sympathy for the local guy standing up to the political class and the corporate bureaucracy of the so-called “local government” system who stroke each others’ backs while advancing their common “progressive/woke” agenda.
Thaler also gained in the unpopularity stakes when he became involved in the case of 95-year-old Clare Nowland from Cooma who died after being tasered by local cops. Thaler intervened as a spokesman for the family, but that role was later hotly disputed by family members, prompting 2GB’s Ben Fordham to call him “a parasite, rotten character and lunatic”.
Interestingly, despite all of his “unpopularity” in the media, Thaler was re-elected to his seat on the Snowy-Monaro Regional Council this year. Cairns News has emailed Thaler with some questions and is awaiting a reply. His phone message bank was also full. We will post a statement from Cr Thaler should he wish to do so.
Snowy Monaro region is part of an unusual Labor Party rural stronghold, the electorate of Eden Monaro. The local MP is Kristy McBain, who is also the Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories, yet another one of the feminist “power women” so prevalent in politics these days.
NSW Labor is obviously proud of its special little country seat and appears to have done much to keep the party “in control” of the local communities and regional council, especially the quaint little town of Nimmitabel where Thaler runs a scrap metal business and solar farm.
This September, six businesses and org
anisations including the Country Women’s Association, the museum, the bakery and the hairdresser banned Thaler from their premises after presenting him notices written with the help of the Monaro Police District Crime Prevention Unit.
In May this year Thaler appeared in at Cooma Local Court as a consequence of being arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting cafe owner Sandra Drayton, apparently one of the local Labor Party network.
The ABC’s Backroads team had been invited byh some local to come and do a show about their cute little town, but then at Drayton’s cafe where they were all having lunch, Cr Thaler turns up and confronts Drayton and a scuffle breaks out, resulting in Thaler being taken off to the local police station. Big bad Thaler had ruined the day.
Cr Thaler, as he is prone to do, produced a YouTube video of the aftermath of his day in court, where the local Labor crowd showed up in force along with a reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald. Thaler accused Drayton of trying to intimidate him and his wife Alisa.
Other characters in the video included a woman in a white ‘feminist’ T-Shirt who stood staring at Thaler in some sort of “one person protest”. Thaler says he has video of Drayton and her husband violently assaulting him.
Thaler has since been allowed back to council meetings and attended the first for the new council last week with security guards and local media attending and the public gallery overflowing. Cr Thaler objected that an acting CEO was presiding over the affirmation or oath to accept the role of councillor. The previous CEO has quit the council, for reasons were not yet aware of.
Thaler’s comments drew multiple objections from fellow councillors and and prompted yelling from the public gallery, the ABC reported. “Sit down” one member of the public said, while another yelled “he’s entitled to have his say”. So Thaler, despite the shocking reviews he gets in mainstream media, does have his supporters.
Thaler’s basic stance is what we suspected. “We reject the old style where it’s a ruled autocracy from the top. People own this building, they own this council, they own these streets, they own these footpaths. Pride, mutual respect, understanding, tolerance, inclusion,” he told a media pack this month.
“You can have as many pride flags as you want, but don’t ram it down everybody’s throat. Inclusion is the answer – and that includes Andrew Thaler and his family.”
Thaler has a point. The local Labor Party crowd forget that Eden-Monaro is not inner-Sydney Paddington or Newtown. So-called pride flags are a major cultural clash with country Australian values. Many would see them as an insult to the Australian tradition of big families working the land and the clear-cut roles for men and women.
And the council itself, like most if not all other regional councils across the state, are undeniably bloated bureaucracies run by highly-paid corporate management teams who see their main job as implementing state and federal government policy and programs. These corporate bureaucrats treat councillors as a necessary nuisance required to rubber stamp backroom decisions.
When Cairns News went to the Snowy Monaro Regional Council website and looked for the “contact your local councillor” link there was nothing. So we tried a site search for “contact councillor” the first document that comes up is a pdf headed Councillor and Staff Interaction Policy.
The document lays down “the law” about “how staff can interact with councillors”. “Councillors can interact with staff nominated by the CEO to provide advice or clarification required,” it states. We would suggest such rules are a load of bollocks.
“Appendix A (see inset) sets out the staff that Councillors may interact to exercise their civic leadership and represent the views of the community. Contact with staff other than those listed in Appendix A must be approved by the CEO. Staff contacted by Councillors, advice that the positions listed in Appendix A will provide the advice or clarification required.”
So in other words, the council CEO exercises total control over which staff councillors may communicate with. The reality is that these corporate CEOs and their corporate management team control the entire council. Yes, councillors vote and put their stamp of approval on certain actions, but in reality they are little more than token representatives of the community.
In the midst of all of this Cr Thaler maintains some sense of humour on his social media page.
Chris Hanna was re-elected Mayor and Tricia Hopkins elected as Deputy Mayor at the first meeting of the recently elected council. Contesting the mayoral vote was Cr Hanna, Cr Bob Stewart, Cr Thaler and Cr Luke Williamson.Contesting the deputy mayor’s vote was Cr Tricia Hopkins, Cr Thaler and Cr Williamson.
