In the past week, 17.5% of the adult population in the Kiama local government area has read my blogs. That’s one in five adults in our community who care enough to invest their time and energy. They know something is off in our community. They want transparency. They want honesty. They want leadership from our local council.
And let’s not forget the rest. Many of them are too busy putting food on the table, keeping businesses afloat, raising families, and holding it all together. They don’t have time to read blogs. But they still feel the consequences when leadership fails.
When I interviewed many of our newly elected councillors after the last election, one thing was clear. They were stepping into complex roles with very little support. There was no structured induction. No formal training in governance or local government processes. No shared understanding of Council’s priorities, history, or the issues still bubbling below the surface.
It wasn’t a lack of care or commitment. It was a lack of preparation.
In any organisation, leadership means understanding not just what you want to do, but how things came to be the way they are. That requires context. That requires proper briefings. And that requires those with institutional knowledge to step forward and help new leaders navigate what’s come before.
When that does not happen, people don’t step up. They step over. That’s not leadership. That’s a takeover.
So let’s ask some practical questions:
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Do incoming mayors and councillors receive the training they need?
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Does Kiama Council currently have any councillors with formal governance or leadership qualifications?
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And why isn’t it standard practice for councillors to complete training such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors course or an equivalent local government program?
We expect a lot from our elected representatives. But if we want strong, confident leadership, we need to set people up to succeed, not leave them guessing.
We expect a lot from our elected representatives. If we want strong, confident leadership, we need to set people up to succeed, not leave them guessing.
It’s time to raise the bar and support our councillors to be the role models all councils deserve.
This isn’t a school P&C. This is a multimillion dollar organisation with serious decisions to make. If this were a Fortune 500 company, the CEO would be accountable. The board would be trained. Everyone would know the mission, the risks, the numbers.
So why should we expect anything less for our community?
What sort of community doesn’t expect this kind of training as part of professional development for its councillors? These are people stepping up on top of full-time careers, and that’s true of every one of our current councillors. So why isn’t the system built to support them properly? Why isn’t it fit for purpose?
Here’s what a proper induction should look like for anyone making decisions on behalf of the public:
- Clarity of purpose and public value.
- Roles and responsibilities, including who’s accountable for what.
- Briefings on key financials, risks, and strategic documents.
- Agreement on top priorities for the next one, two and three years.
- Decision-making frameworks that promote transparency.
- Governance training, plain-language briefings, and mentorship.
- Ongoing development, not a once-off induction day
Instead, what we get is councillors fed just enough information to feel like they’re part of something while the real power remains hidden in the hands of staff.
Three of our current councillors were part of the previous Council that oversaw significant financial decline. So what lessons have they learned? From where I sit, not many. Councillors who tried to challenge the system were met with code of conduct complaints or ICAC referrals. Both amounted to nothing, except a hefty bill for ratepayers.
And now? There’s still no sign of change. There’s still spin on Council’s website. There’s still a reluctance to tell the full story.
And here’s the real kicker. Any councillor who has the courage to stand up and ask the hard questions is quickly isolated. Dismissed. Gaslit. The process is subtle, but the outcome is clear. Ask too many questions, and you become the problem. Not the broken system. You.
And let’s be honest. It’s a bit frightening.
Most people who run for Council do it for the right reasons. They want better outcomes for the community. But the job they step into is big. It’s complex. It’s political. Without the right training or support, they don’t just struggle. They get swallowed.
This is public money. This is real infrastructure. These are decisions that affect homes, safety, environment and future generations. If you wouldn’t be allowed to walk into the boardroom of a hundred million dollar company without preparation, why is it okay in a local government chamber?
So here’s a question worth asking.
Who do you represent?
Because if it’s not the people, then who is it?
And shouldn’t we all be clear on that?And here’s the harder question.
Why don’t more people with the right experience and training step up to lead?
That’s the conversation we need to have.
Not just around election time, but all the time.
#KiamaCommunity #LocalLeadership #CouncilAccountability #GoodGovernance #CommunityFirst #PublicTrust #TransparencyMatters #LocalDemocracy #LeadershipMatters #CivicResponsibility
Well put Lynne
🙏
Lynne,
Absolutely perfectly and forthrightly put. It needed and needs saying and repeating until the leadership training and those trained are in place and both councillors and staff can readily answer the questions of the type you asked after the previous Council election.
However, if, as you state, most or all of the power is in the hands of the staff of Kiama Council – a statement for which there is more than ample evidence – why isn’t the senior staff, as well as the councillors, being required to undertake and successfully complete extensive leadership training before they are recruited to become the servants of the elected board of directors of this multimillion dollar company that we, the ratepayers, own ?
– Graham Pike
Great point, Graeme. Unfortunately, many organisations invest in training new career entrants and their senior leaders, but they overlook middle management. The result? Those new entrants quickly realise their managers haven’t had the same training. So they think, why bother? And they start looking for an organisation that values leadership development at every level.