I spent 17 years in Local Government in Sydney from 1991-2008. I served Rockdale Council 1991-1999, and then Kogarah Council during 1999-2008. I had to change Councils, as I would have lost at the September 1999 election due to deliberate preference arrangements. Stephen Blackadder, General Manager in July 1999 said to me after a Council meeting, “congratulations Anne, you have trumped the boys at the ballot box.”
I bought a property in Kogarah to get onto the non-residential ratepayers roll, so that I would be eligible to run for Kogarah Council. I could have instead used a business owner to nominate me to the non-residential ratepayers roll.
Whilst there have been many changes in electoral regulations, and Council structures and management along with Council policies since then, my comments will still have some merit today. Rockdale and Botany Councils merged in 2016 to become Bayside Council. Kogarah and Hurstville Councils also merged to become Georges River Council.
From an article in a 1995 British House and Garden magazine, I quote the following:
“if you want the prime example of a group of the unwilling picked from the unfit to do the necessary, then look no further than your local Council Chambers. There sits a Committee of members, who do as a body what none would ever dare do as individuals, voting in the ruination of our urban landscapes, while fighting between themselves as to who will get the contract for surfacing the new supermarket car park.”
I came to Council with a background of extensive community experience. My past and present political profile is on my website: annefield.net.au. Other people have come to Council as a result of involvement in a Progress Association or Precinct Committee. Others have run on a single issue, such as the need for a new swimming pool, a new Central Library, new sporting fields or to preserve an old building. Some residents have done some stirring over local issues, and wanted to show that “they did not like the status quo.” And then there are the candidates, who are elected on Party tickets. They may not necessarily have much community experience, but the Party ticket gets them over the line……
I have served with a few Councillors, who were elected on Party tickets, who were lazy, did not often return phone calls from residents, and rarely turned up to site meetings. I have heard recently of one Bayside Councillor, who was tracked down through his Linked In account, as he did not return phone calls to residents. These characteristics have become linked to more Councillors over the past few years. One needs to ask the question as to why these people bothered to run for Council if they have no community interest. Were they there only to make up the numbers?
The first steps in running for Council are to find other suitable people to run with. These are people who want Council to do better, to achieve better Council outcomes, and who most of all people share your views. Once you have chosen your team, you need to register it with the Electoral Office from the nominated date. Letter box only after you have registered.
Ensure that you have an Election Committee and work as a team. Keep your confidences. Pre-election and during the election campaign, rumours are always fast moving and often distorted. Today, with social media trolling happens, which adds to stress factors. Ignore this.
Be warned that politics is not for the faint hearted. My 17 year Council experience, and the 30 years of intimidation are testimony to this. A hotel concierge friend of many years, who had met Margaret Thatcher on her three Prime Ministerial visits to Australia, in the early 1990’s decided to nickname me “Margaret Thatcher “. He would sometimes say to me “why are you bothered with these Council hassles, read a good book.” Alas, I am known to prefer to research and write a good book!
Before I ran for Council, I had to endure a mid-1991 Local Court case with my then 77-year-old arthritic father, who was accused of assaulting my next door neighbour. Another neighbour gave evidence in Court that my father was not near the neighbour, who claimed that she was assaulted. It simply did not happen. Soon after the Court case was over, my then neighbour’s house went up for sale. This case was, I believe, a political stitch up to damage my reputation, so that I would not run for Council. I have always had strong suspicions as to its political source.
You need to begin planning your leaflets to residents. Your group’s platform must be clearly stated and you may have a catch phrase such as “the community minded Independent.” Do not make spelling mistakes, and always ensure that your election material is authorized with a residential address. I completed three letterbox drops. The first was a letter of introduction of myself, then one with my No. 2 candidate, and finally to the more expensive and informative leaflet just prior to the Council election. This had my How to Vote Card on the back of the leaflet.
However, as a result of Council amalgamation in 2016, the Wards have now increased in size. It is an impossible task to letter box the Ward three times, twice will now have to suffice.
Independents need to rely on their own hard work, along with helpers to letterbox. Political Parties usually mail out their literature, funds permitting. My father, who was 77 at the time, letterboxed Third Ward three times with me – an amazing achievement for my elderly father.
In letterboxing, keep a record of where you have letterboxed. I always colour-coded a Gregory’s street directory map of Ward 3 in Rockdale, and later North Ward in Kogarah, so that I did not double up. (street directories are rare these days) No one wants to waste valuable time or leaflets on doubling up I did not door-knock residents.
Door-knocking today is a must for a new candidate. You are not known and need to be known by the residents. Do have a brochure or a card of introduction to give to the resident. Residents will often discuss with you things that they are unhappy about. Have some paper with you to write down their concerns. Be mindful of houses with Beware of the Dog sign on the gate!
Technology today makes preparing your draft flyer much easier. Ensure that you have photos, which present you in a professional manner. Have a haircut, and be well presented in your appearance for your photos. Never be photographed wearing dark glasses. It is a good idea to include a few photos of yourself in a variety of locations significant to the Ward in which you are running as a candidate.
Official Rockdale Council Photographs for 1991-1995 Term
Seeking a reasonable priced printer for your election material is a must for the budget. This applies also to the production of your corflute signs. Be mindful of the numbers that you will need to print, and make certain that this is costed into your budget. Keep all receipts so that you can account for your expenses. You will need to find sites where your election sign can be readily seen – ask permission from the home owner, and thank them once the election is over.
Preferences can make or break your ability to cross the line. It is up to the individual candidate and his/her team if he or she wishes to exchange preferences .You will be pressured by other candidates to give preferences in exchange for theirs. When I ran for Kogarah Council, the Kogarah Bay Progress Association had a policy in which their candidate did not give preferences. It still did not stop representation from other candidates for a preference swap.
Legislation concerning donations and funding has changed so much since I left Council in 2008, that I will not comment on this topic. The political party fundraisers held during my time on Council are no more. Developers would sometimes donate to both political parties, to maintain a foot in both political camps. Legislation is currently before the NSW Parliament to ban property developers from running as candidates for Council.
Some Wards may have Candidate Meetings, which are organised by a community member. If you have put your hand up to run for Council, make sure that you turn up with your team to the meeting. Residents are invited to hear you speak on your platform.
Rarely are candidates elected unopposed. It happened to the North Ward Councillors, Kogarah Council in 2004, as no one put their hand up to run against myself, Nick Katris and Nick Varvaris.
Election day is always busy with the poll opening at 8am and closing at 6pm. I recall on the morning of the 1995 Council elections someone had thrown a large dead bird into my back yard. The message was clear – “you are a dead bird today “. I was returned as a Councillor to Third Ward.
Ensure that you have representatives on each polling booth in the ward, and at the central polling booth, where people can vote from across the council area. They should have coloured t-shirts which indicate your team. Organise someone to deliver food and drinks to your helpers during the day. It is a long, tiring day. Ensure that you have a spread sheet of polling booths, so that you know who is on duty, and at what time/s.
The polls close at 6pm. Counting begins immediately. In my time, a result would most likely be known on the Sunday night, unless there were preference allocations still to be exhausted, or postal votes had to be counted. Today, due to technology, election results are calculated and collated much more quickly.
No one has a right to their position as a Councillor – it has to be earned. For those, who are so arrogant to believe that the position is rightfully theirs, they may in fact receive a jolt of reality! The ballot box always has the final say on election day.
When I was first elected to Rockdale Council in 1991, there were 3 new Councillors – Councillors Bill Morrison, George Pinniger and Field. We were given induction talks by the General Manager, Stephen Blackadder, met senior staff and made to feel welcome. Today, a much more detailed induction programme is undertaken by all Councillors.
Bill had been Australia’s Foreign Affairs Minister in the Whitlam Government. George was a Science teacher, who specialised on occasions in wearing mismatching shirts and ties, and I was a Social Science teacher. I always attended Council meetings well dressed. So much so, that I had learned by 1999, that I was called by some “not the pin up girl.”
Bill was an eloquent speaker, who could speak without notes. This is a hard skill to learn. I always spoke with notes, and kept a record of these notes, in case someone questioned me about what I had said. This happened on a number of occasions. Rockdale Council meetings were not taped, but Kogarah Council meetings were. Kogarah Council tapes were a handy record when you were being bullied from the Mayoral Chair. This happened to me from 3 different Mayors. I gave the name Napoleon Bonaparte –“a small man in pursuit of power.” to one individual. His treatment of me was unacceptable and unprofessional.
I had made the conscious decision not to be a Councillor, who jumps up and down, and wants everyone to know that they are experts on all subjects. I decided to “sit back, bide my time and check the lie of the land”.
I recall the first occasion that I spoke at a Rockdale Council meeting. I still hear today the gravelling voice of the late Second Ward Councillor, Denis Callaghan. He called out to me ‘Well that must be your maiden speech”. There were many speeches after this one!
I did all of my own research for Council debate, and any public speaking functions I did in relation to Council. Writing and public speaking can be an effort for some Councillors – it is a learned skill. Whilst I was a North Ward Councillor, I reported monthly to the Kogarah Bay Progress Association at their meetings. I attended the meetings and answered questions .from the members, who were local residents.
There is no glory in being a Councillor. It is sheer hard work if you commit to the job properly. One does gain pleasure out of achievements, gains or wins that you have made for the community. And that is what you are there for to work for the community, not yourself or your Party.
1999-2004 
2004-2008
Official Kogarah Council Photographs
I received phone calls, faxes and letters from across the City. I had no secretary and replied to all where possible. Christine, a girlfriend, often made phone calls on my behalf, and introduced herself as “Councillor Field’s unpaid private secretary”.
I also kept a book, in which I detailed my incoming Council calls, and what they were about. My first job was courtesy of the late Dr Joan Hatton, a well- known local historian. She asked me a day or so after the 1991 Council election to have the park at the top of Oakdale Avenue, Kogarah named Moorefield Reserve.
There were a number of contentious Building Applications, later called Development Applications in my time. Today, they are dealt with largely by independent Planning Panels. .
The impact on family life can be substantial without supportive partners. The time needed to read business papers is substantial, followed by the time taken for Committee or Council Meetings. In addition, you have to read the emails which Council sends. You will make representations to Council on behalf of residents, so you will formulate emails to Council.
There are site inspections, and representation on external Committees, which take up time.
In my time, Council Minutes were hard copy, today they are in electronic format. I used the fax machine – an understatement to Council Officers! I believe that my name was Anne Fax Field at Kogarah Council and I have an award, The Facsimile Award 2000
This was presented to me by the General Manager, Gary Sawyer at the end of year Xmas party in December 2000. It hangs on the wall above where my fax stood! In the Councillor farewell at Rockdale Council in late 1999, Dianne Cuthbert, Director of Planning, produced a roll of one of my faxes – much to my embarrassment and others enjoyment!
The time commitments to Council are one of the reasons why I took 23 years to complete my first major published book, “The History of Moorefield Racecourse – Kogarah (1888-1951).” My book was finally launched in 2016, 65 years to the day of the last race meeting at Moorefield Racecourse. I had made a commitment to finish my history, and I honoured that promise by ‘saluting the winning post ‘on July 14 2016.
In my case, the years of community involvements, along with my teaching subjects (Commerce, Legal Studies, Geography) have given me many pluses. The ability to communicate is a must – to communicate with ones fellow Councillors, staff and the community is essential. Residents want to be informed.
We would not wish dysfunctionality to take hold on any Council. Sadly, it has overtaken in the past few years, a local amalgamated Council with damaging results. Thirty Codes of Conducts are unacceptable and a huge waste of ratepayers money. Councillors targeting other Councillors, resulting in Codes of Conducts inevitably results in a poisonous Council environment. In all of my 17 years on Council, there was not one Code of Conduct.
In 1995 25.6% of Councillors were female. In 2021, the figure is approximately 30%. What has happened? Council is seen as a male dominated environment and intimidating to women. This must change if more women are to be elected to Council.
I was not phased in 1991 at this environment, as I had served on the male dominated St George Hospital Board (1985-1988) and in 1991 was elected the first female President of the Rotary Club of Rockdale . However, the July 1 2021 730pm Report on Bathurst Council, highlights that the male domination in some Councils is as strong as ever.
In my first term on Council, one male Councillor as caught on a number of occasions by the public gallery, turning on his microphone and rustling paper when I spoke. On another occasion, he also had the audacity and arrogance to rub his hand up the side of my face in an empty Committee Room. At a later date, he invited me to a private meeting and I was to wear a particular item of clothing- my leather trousers. Needless to say, I did not attend the cafe to meet with him, as I had declined the invitation in writing.
Whilst poor male behaviour has been recently outed at the Federal and State levels, Local Government behaviour hasn’t as yet been exposed. There would be many current and former female Councillors across NSW, who could provide examples of poor and inappropriate behaviour. Poor behaviour for me has occurred over the past 30 years, and has extended well beyond the Council Chambers. I have continued post- Council to run community campaigns on such things as saving Griffith House , St George Hospital Campus 2012-2013 , and the M6 Freeway impacts on the Moorefield Estate and wetlands.2017 -2019 .
Ms Shelley Hancock , Minister for Local Government, issued a media release on March 9 2021 stating that the NSW Government is set to replace a number of outdated meeting practice policies as part of a plan to increase diversity including female representation in local government.
Under the new proposed changes, Councillors with carer and work responsibilities will be permitted to attend Council meetings virtually, as well as have carer costs covered. We need to bring a number of meeting practices into the 21 century, which is why we’re looking to extend the use of remote meeting attendance and mandating the reimbursement of carer expenses , including childcare. Virtual meeting attendance would be permitted for individual Councillors if they are absent from the local area due to a prior work agreement.
In my time on Council, lectures were held at Council on matters relevant to Council elections. This does not happen today. The Office of Local Government provides valuable online information on registration , nominations ,election campaign funds ,voting and other election procedures as well as dates and deadlines .Ensure that all of your paper work in in order , and is submitted by the correct date. Candidates have been ruled out in the past from inaccuracies in their paper work.
Webinars are being undertaken from April to August 2021 by the NSW Electoral Commission. They cover such topics as election overview, election funding and disclosure, the registration of candidates, groups and third party campaigners; electoral material etc. Take advantage of these presentations to learn more about the Council process.
If I could offer some final words of advice. The first is from my late father – always treat the residents as you would like to be treated. And my advice :stand up for what you believe in. Hard decisions have to be made on Council issues, so ensure that you have done your research, understand the facts and be diligent in arguing your point of view. We need people today, who are both forward thinking and who have a vision for our local area to be elected to Council.
Good luck on December 4 2021.
Anne Field
Kogarah
July 2 2021.
