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A case study in 'broken democracy': the Blue Mountains, NSW

By Robert Gibbons - posted Thursday, 26 March 2015


The "remedy" is arguably along localism lines:

  1. Legislate to increase local accountability, create misuse of public office penalties, and enforce skills in community engagement processes
  2. Impose an independent audit bureau on councils that are in crisis, to separate managerial from community interests and help government to set outcome-based KPIs
  3. Fund an independent regional policy and strategy unit, with budget for engagement.

Detroit was faced with earth-shaking unemployment due to the winding-down of car manufacture. The civic, business and community leaders said, put all our resources into a coordinated pool, use our retired people creatively, and focus on things we can do well. That is not yet working (and Baltimore is dealing with deep issues slowly) but is similar to Newcastle's recovery where excellent civic design and setting-up 8 industry clusters promoted appropriate replacement activities – and that has worked even though its civic governance remained dysfunctional.

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In Britain's "vibrant" cities, as in Newcastle, did the people, acting locally, achieve the unexpected? In the Mountains there is a disconnect between resources and community, between parties and people, between community pain and Big Business resources. There is a need for genuine, disciplined Localism reforms to overcome institutional impediments. As Malcolm Turnbull put it in July 2014, "If you want anyone to change, you have to persuade them they have a problem. Then you have to explain the solution".

The current Mountains malaise can be replaced by State leadership and local reforms.

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About the Author

Robert Gibbons started urban studies at Sydney University in 1971 and has done major studies of Sydney, Chicago, world cities' performance indicators, regional infrastructure financing, and urban history. He has published major pieces on the failure of trams in Sydney, on the "improvement generation" in Sydney, and has two books in readiness for publication, Thank God for the Plague, Sydney 1900 to 1912 and Sydney's Stumbles. He has been Exec Director Planning in NSW DOT, General Manager of Newcastle City, director of AIUS NSW and advisor to several premiers and senior ministers.

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