The French expression, fait accompli, comes from fait (a fact) and accompli (accomplished) and is generally understood to mean that something has already been done and cannot be reversed. It is an ‘accomplished fact’.
I don’t mean to turn the Mayoral column into a French lesson and I am certainly not qualified to do so but I have heard this expression repeatedly over the last couple of weeks.
When people speak with me about the State Government’s proposal to amalgamate Dubbo and Wellington, many people express their extreme desire not to amalgamate BUT they then often follow with this French expression. They assume that the State Government has already made a decision and the proposal and appointment of our Delegate, Dr Ian Tiley and the public inquiry is all part of stepping through a process to then arrive at a proclamation made by the Governor in the middle of the year.
It may be my naïve nature but I would say to the people of Dubbo and Wellington that if you believe it to be than so it will be (apologies to Henry Ford for taking a slight twist on his “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right” quote). If our residents assume the amalgamation is a fait accompli and stop taking notice of the biggest change to happen to our local government area since 1980, then, without doubt, it will happen.
Let us not forget that we are holding a huge ace in our hand. There is no other Council area in the State that is proposed for amalgamation that has the Deputy Premier as their local member. The State Member for Dubbo, Deputy Premier the Hon. Troy Grant MP, has said from day one that he will back Dubbo all the way to stay as a standalone Council and when the community has spoken loud and clear to say that we don’t want an amalgamation and we have the second most powerful person in State politics sitting on our side then I would argue it is anything but a done deal.
We cannot be complacent though. Complacency breeds failure. We only have eleven days left to send in our submission to our Delegate. You can still vote online to have your opinion heard. You can still send your message to the State Government and, when a decision is made, at the very least you will know that you did everything you possibly could to influence the correct outcome. Failure is not a decision going against your wishes – failure is to give up before a decision is made and subsequently not give it your best shot. #NoDubbington
Councillor Mathew Dickerson
Mayor of the City of Dubbo