[Incidentally, with regard to that other relatively recent referendum, on retail trading hours, anyone who has traveled extensively overseas will know that there are very few places where 24 hour trading is common practice, no matter what the law says. There are places where trading goes on longer into the evening - but even these are remarkably few, except for tourist shops and convenience stores. But that is another story.]
It is, as someone remarked to me on leaving the polling booth, a clear reflection of the fact that if no new arguments or information come to light, then people will continue to vote the same way.
And that got me to thinking of what, as an economist, I really ought to have been more aware all along. That is that people are rational no matter how it might suit politicians to think otherwise. The key is ensuring that they have the necessary information on which to make decisions or, in the case of local government, to influence their elected members.
Vincent established a precint group system early in its life - encouraged by reports of the success of precincts in North Sydney under the tutelage of Ted Mack as Mayor. For a while this worked well, but it has been difficult for those groups to maintain their energy and several of them have folded in recent years.
The reasons for this are not hard to find, the main one being that our precincts are too small. Each precinct in North Sydney had almost as many residents as the whole of the Town of Vincent. So, as the Town matured and the issues that had been neglected by the City of Perth were addressed, there were too few matters of specific concern to any one precinct group - as distinct from important to the Town as a whole.
For issues of importance to the Town as a whole, the precinct system might actually have worked against the original intention of facilitating informed community discussion and input to Council decision-making - something akin to 'divide and rule', perhaps - a fragmented community is unable to present a coherent and consistent point of view.
Sure, on specific issues we consult widely - matters such as the potential redevelopment of Leederville. But on the less tangible topics that are the stuff of policy (and the Town has heaps of policies), we get very litle input from either precinct groups or individual members of the community.
So is it time to revisit the precinct system in Vincent - to revitalise and recreate?
The award-winning Vincent Vision 2024 identified five 'place-based areas'. These were: Mt Hawthorn; North Perth; Leederville; Mt Lawley/Highgate; and Perth. These have also been used as the basis for the Local Planning Strategy, which lays the groundwork for the review of the Town Planning Scheme.
Each of these areas has a 'town centre' and a local community that relates to it. The local residents may patronise local businesses and, in turn, will understand the impacts of those businesses; businesses in those centres would also have a voice that is often missing at present. There is a multi-faceted 'community of interest' that would lend itself to creating an informed community, on the one hand, and provide an effective forum for discussion of important issues affecting the place, on the other hand.
If we are going to plan on the basis of these five areas, let's do the job properly and establish a consultative structure that accords with them - as part of the develoment of the new Town Planning Scheme and as an integral part of its implementation.
If we are going to do this, we must also be prepared to resource those groups so that they can fulfil their role effectively.
We should also look carefully at the potential value of having a 'place manager' for each of these five places - to integrate the planning and delivery of services for each place across the functional boundaries. The business and residential communities would then have a single point of contact with the Town (a portal) rather than having to penetrate the adminstrative structure to work out who best to talk to. The role of 'place manager' is a relatively new one, but we should look to being once again the benchmark rather than a follower.
"there are very few places where 24 hour trading is common practice, no matter what the law say"
ReplyDeleteThe way you phrase it, you make it sound as if extended trading laws in WA would compel shopkeepers to open longer hours. It will do no such thing; deregulation of trading hours would merely allow shopkeepers to open the hours that suit them and their clients.
Depending on your point of view, I might be saying that deregulation would not be a major issue because few shops will take advantage of it or, alternatively, that there isn't much point in creating uncertainty through deregulation because it wouldn't make much practical difference. Pay your money and take your choice.
ReplyDeleteHow would deregulation create 'uncertainty'?
ReplyDeleteWell, small businesses are afraid that they'll be taken advantage of by the big guys - they might not be, but no-one seems sure = uncertainty; customers won't know whether a particular shop will be open = uncertainty; retail employees might have to work inconvenient hours (but they might have to) = uncertainty; will there actually be more retail spending or just more cost to retailers? = uncertainty; and any open-ended or permissive change creates uncertainty at least in the short term, especially during the period of adjustment when businesses are 'testing the water'.
ReplyDelete