Eight good Councillors and myself on minimum remuneration fought long and hard to successfully provide excellent water and sewerage. And fought long and hard to keep under the wing of council.

We received praise for our water quality and worked hard on a well maintained no problem sewerage system.

Was the sewerage perfect? Hell no.

It was ageing; to totally replace it would have cost millions, a huge imposed on ratepayers.

As responsible elected members we chose to maintain and continued to lobby the federal and state government for funds.

I am still proud of 85 per cent of all councils producing excellent water and maintaining good sewerage.

Amalgamation was the only answer to councils with small ratepayer bases as they could not cope.

It is easy to be critical from the comforts of home, but never at the coal face trying to balance people rates trying to keep them low and affordable.

LIBERTY, fraternity equality.

Once upon a time our political leaders at least aspired to live up to these ideals.

Notwithstanding that the pursuit of power always requires compromise and the return of favours.

Now how they are seen no longer matters.

All that matters is that you attain power.

That now absolves everything.

Trump and Duterte in particular.

I won so what I say goes.

That is what you elected me for.

There is no collective just me and my ego.

The neoliberal singularity.

Only in Britain do we hear Theresa May say that she governs for all of her people.

A conservative who dares to contradict Margaret Thatcher.

As the world darkens a light shines from an unexpected place.