Promoted Beyond His Level Of Competence?

WA Local Government Association President, Troy Pickard, has been elected President of the Australian Local Government Association.

In view of the unsatisfactory role WALGA has played in local government so-called reform in Perth, it is to be sincerely hoped that Pickard doesn't shaft local government in the rest of Australia the way he has in Perth.

It would be ironic if other local councils were to follow the Nedlands lead and withdraw from WALGA so that Troy is left heading up a dead duck in WA.

As I have argued in a previous post on this blog (http://ianrker-vincent.blogspot.com.au/2014/11/time-to-scrap-walga-and-start-again.html), the WALGA model is flawed as a policy model because it doesn't (or, more accurately, can't) reflect diversity among its membership. 

It is also flawed as a business model - it might have been relevant in the 1990s but online competition between suppliers is now so great that having a 'broker' is no longer necessary or even useful and economies of scale in purchasing are disappearing in most service areas. 

WALGA is an unnecessary and expensive overhead, supporting and supported by state government in a symbiotic relationship that systematically excludes many of WALGA's members.