Legislators
Represent the interests of people in constituencies as elected members of national, state and territory parliaments and local government authorities.
A councillor's busy fortnight
You are an elected councillor in a regional shire, with a big vote coming up and your phone ringing every evening. It is a Sunday night. Council meets on Tuesday to vote on a new rubbish transfer station near a small town. Residents are divided, and you have been asked three things before breakfast.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I voted for you because you said you would protect this town. Now I hear you might support the transfer station down the road from us. If you do, I will tell everyone you broke your word. So which is it?
Promise Dennis you will vote against it, so he keeps backing you and tells the neighbours so
Dennis is happy, but you have committed your vote before hearing the facts. If the evidence points the other way on Tuesday, you either break your word or vote against your own judgement.
Say you will hear both sides and explain your vote publicly, whichever way it goes
Dennis is not delighted, but he respects a straight answer. Being honest about how you decide earns more trust over time than a promise you may not be able to keep.
Say you cannot discuss it because council business must stay confidential
Parts of the process are confidential, but this is not one of them. Dennis walks away feeling brushed off, and tells the neighbours you will not talk to anyone.
I have to tell you the report recommends approving the station, mostly on technical grounds. The community feeling is strongly against. Councillors can vote either way, but you will need to give reasons if you go against the report.
Ask what exactly the community's concerns are and whether conditions could address them
Fiona shows you where conditions on traffic and hours could answer several worries. You are now able to vote on a version you understand, and to explain it to residents.
Follow the report, because the officers know the technical details better than you
Officers are experts, but you are elected to weigh what the community needs as well. Voting purely on the report would leave your residents wondering what you are for.
Vote against the report, since the community feeling is what voters will remember
The motion fails to meet the rules, and the council faces a costly challenge. Votes need reasons based on the matters the council is allowed to consider, not only on popularity.
I have been very supportive of the community, and I help sponsor the footy club. I would appreciate your support on Tuesday. I would hate to think a vote like this affected how we work together in the future.
Say you will see what you can do, since he has supported local causes and it would be rude not to
It sounds friendly, but it blurs the line between generosity and influence. If this is noticed, your vote looks bought, whatever you actually decide.
Thank him, say clearly it will not affect your vote and note the conversation in the register
Warrick is slightly cooler afterwards, but your record is clean. Councillors have to be able to show that the public interest, not friendships, shaped their decisions.
End the call quickly without answering and keep your distance from him for a while
You stay out of trouble for now, but he learns nothing and may repeat the approach with another councillor. A clear, polite boundary protects everyone, including him.
How it went
On Tuesday, you vote with conditions attached and prepare a letter explaining why. Being elected locally means living near the people your decisions touch, and weighing facts, feelings and rules at once. Would you want to be accountable to your neighbours in this way?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The car park and the market
A fictional case set in a fictional shire council and its surrounding towns, as an elected councillor.
The situation
Councillor Joyce Mbeki represented a ward in the fictional Bellarine Plains Shire. A plan was before council to turn a gravel car park near the main street into a new library extension. The shopkeepers feared they would lose customers who parked there. A group of parents and older residents had been asking for the library for years. The vote was in two weeks. Joyce's inbox was full of strong messages from both sides, and several were unkind.
What they did
Joyce decided not to vote on the strength of the loudest emails. She asked council staff for numbers on parking use and how many spaces nearby were rarely full. She held an open session at the town hall where both groups sat in the same room, and she asked each to say what they most needed, not what they opposed. She then proposed an amendment: the extension would go ahead, with a new short-stay parking area behind the shops.
How it turned out
The amendment passed by a single vote. Not everyone was happy, and some shopkeepers remained doubtful until the new parking opened. Joyce explained her vote in a letter to the ward. She said later that people accepted a decision they disagreed with much more readily when they understood how it was made.
What would you do?
- Why did Joyce ask people what they needed, instead of what they opposed?
- How would you feel about voting in a way that some of your neighbours strongly disliked?
- What do you think is the difference between representing people and simply doing what the loudest ones say?