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One aspect of local government that I have always admired is that I feel it is the purest form of democracy. Allowing for a few technical qualifications (Australian citizenship and not currently in prison being two), any adult can stand for election …

I am writing this column on the evening of ANZAC Day so it is impossible to sit down to write a column about my helicopter view and not be overwhelmed by the emotion of the day. Before I speak about some of that emotion, I want to think about the won…

The term lobbyist will often conjure up an image of a shady character doing unscrupulous deals behind closed doors to generate more money for a cigar-smoking tyrant sitting on his island in the Bahamas. Maybe there are some lobbyists that act in that…

At 27km in length and up to 4km wide, the Tasman Glacier in New Zealand is that country’s longest and largest glacier. The glacier is currently reducing in size by up to 822m each year. In 1973, there was no terminal lake at the base of the gla…

I have heard a variety of views about city growth in my time on Council and what it would mean for Dubbo in the long run. Generally, most people are keen for Dubbo to continue to grow and attract new and improved facilities and services, but one of t…

I well remember a training session that I attended way back on 4 February 2004. It was a pre-election seminar for anyone that was thinking about contesting the upcoming Council elections. Peter Sutton, former Deputy Mayor of Dubbo, spoke at the three…