There will always be people out there who could be shown DNA evidence and still deny it was true.
It's part of the human condition, and certainly part of this society.
What I can't accept is those who try to circumvent the people's choices by airing allegations and aiming them at the feet of those trying to govern responsibly.
The petition at the crux of this issue asked the minister to sack the Upper Hunter Shire Council and appoint an administrator. It received 1201 petitioners, and was tabled by the Greens Member for Balmain, an electorate some 263 kilometres from from the Upper Hunter Shire. But any time the Member for Balmain wants to come on up, please do, we are a good bunch up here in the Upper Hunter Shire, despite what some may have led you to believe.
Part of this petition was based on a hugely embarrassing issue of a bungled road rebuild.
I was one of the councillors on council at the time of this issue, and I am still here to see it fixed. This happened back in 2020, the Office of Local Government (OLG) is investigating the issue and will hand down its findings when it has finished.
Both the state and federal governments have committed to helping us rectify this issue.
I do think that, at this point, being three years down the track, it might be time to get over it.
Using it as a point to get in a radio spot or on the nightly news is getting a bit old.
The road will be fixed, and it will be better than new as soon as it can be, and not a second before.
The minister replied to the Clerk of the House of Representatives, as that is the requirement in this type of correspondence, and his reply says that he will take the advice on the investigation into the MR358 project when he gets the report.
As for all other things, he will continue to take OLG's and the auditor-general's advice on the council's performance, as he does with every other council in the state.
The Upper Hunter Shire Council is a part of the industry that is responsible for 75 per cent of the country's infrastructure, but receives less than 1 per cent of taxed revenue from the state and federal governments.
I hear your eyes rolling and your teeth grinding as you say: "What about my bloody rates?"
Well, what about them?
We don't take it down to the casino and put it all on lucky number 7.
Rates, in most cases, don't cover the wages for a shire and, if they do, it's not by much.
To that end, councils are not just "roads, rates and rubbish". As much as some would like to think that is what councils should be restricting themselves to, the truth is that without councils you probably couldn't afford to go swimming at the local pool or get that book that you need only for a few weeks.
Further out in the regions, people are connected to Services NSW and Centre Link. All services that are provided by local governments around the state at some level or another. And where would the sporting fields be without the local government?
Please don't think I am whining. I'm not.
I love local government. It's incredibly challenging and rewarding.
It has you pulling your hair out one day and shaking the hand of a kindergarten pupil the next because she drew the best picture of a mare and foal.
Like everything, it has ups and downs. But that doesn't mean that as an elected member you get a free pass on anything. As voters demand of their elected representative, they attend that briefing, meet with that person and fight for their issue.
It's your democratic right, but it is their democratic responsibility.
If you don't like the person who's in, don't vote for them next September.
But, if you think they have the best ideas for you and your town, give them your number 1, and number the rest accordingly.
It's the only fair way for democracy to work, not by filing a petition that is the political equivalent of a three-year-old throwing themselves on the ground in a supermarket because their parent will not buy them a lolly.
