With the upcoming local council election on December 4, discussions within the community about the behaviour of Shoalhaven councillors, and politicians more broadly, have been circulating.
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With claims of "misogynistic bullying" in chambers, smear campaigns against a former and the current mayor, and the Wingecaribee Shire Council being suspended in March, questions have arisen as to how councillors are actually supposed to behave and represent their communities.
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However, South Coast MP Shelley Hancock thinks the Shoalhaven City councillors "is one of the best functioning in the state", behaviourally and financially, when compared to what she has witnessed in parliament and other local councils.
"Council's main function is to look after and serve their community. And that's the same with the state and federal government," she said.
"Some councils have been dysfunctional, because of certain councillors.
"And I watch a lot of meetings on webcasts where people have made complaints to the office of local government and they have been out of control.
"Then I look at Shoalhaven City Council and it doesn't happen to that level. There absolutely are divergent views, but the behaviour overall is remarkably good."
She said dealing with what some call "bad behaviour" is just something that comes with the job.
"The claims of bad behavior, I think it's just a distraction," she said.
"Quite frankly, I think people like to politicise what they see as bad behavior, but it's not necessarily bad behavior.
"There is disagreement in chambers, it gets vocal and there is robust disagreement with somebody else's point of view. I think we're pretty naive if we think that we're going to stop.
"And that happens. And it's about being able to stand up and express your view without fear or favor."
Mrs Hancock has a mound of experience sitting as a councillor herself, managing various councils across the state and also as a former legislative Assembly speaker.
While there have been claims of "bad behaviour" over the years with complaint orders being made, Mrs Hancock said Shoalhaven City Council has never come close to being suspended like Wingecarribee Shire Council.
"Wingecarribee had screaming matches. There are other councils too that behaved horrendously, and they were slapped with performance improvement orders after a long period of time watching that behaviour," said Mrs Hancock.
"To be suspended, it can't just be a one-off meeting, it would have to be continued, which the Shoalhaven City Council hasn't had.
"There are avenues for councillors to make complaints if they feel personally offended and they bring that evidence to the office of local government or the general manager to put in a formal Code of Conduct complaint."
In response to the 'Findley has Failed' flyers that were dropped into letterboxes by outgoing Cr Guile in July, Mrs Hancock said she has faced similar challenges as a politician herself and believes the best way to campaign is through positive messaging.
"During campaigns, there are things that are said and done, which are not necessarily acceptable to the community. But that's sometimes a part of campaigning. It's one of the lesser appealing aspects of democracy," she said.
"I've been in this game now for a long time. I was first elected into Shoalhaven City Council in 1987. And I'm still here in the state parliament, and during campaigning the opposition and the other forces on social media were pretty horrendous in the things they said about me.
"You either weather the storm, or you get out there and say it's not true, and I think that's what Amanda did (in regards to the flyers).
"I think running a positive campaign about what you're going to do for the community rather than the negatives. I think that's the best way."
One thing Mrs Hancock thinks Shoalhaven City Council does well is maintaining gender parity - something she believes is "extremely necessary" for a council to run effectively.
Across the board, Mrs Hancock is advocating to get more women in local councils and in politics across the board.
She has been running workshops to encourage women in regional and rural areas to get involved in politics, and said the workshops are faring to be successful so far.
"Its been a big push of mine to increase the number of female councillors in the state from 31 per cent. If we could get it over 40 per cent then I'll be delighted," she said.
"I'm not trying to denigrate male councillors at all, but in my view if we've got 50 per cent of the population who are women, I genuinely think we need to move towards that in council too.
"And New South Wales is the worst performing state in terms of its female representation in councils.
"Some councils in rural and regional New South Wales have no women, or just one. Wingecarribee council, who were actually dismissed, had no women for a long time.
"I'm not saying that was the reason for their problems, but I do think women bring a different perspective to council.
"They know what's needed in their community. To me, it's the smaller picture stuff like considering what the little villages may need, like shared cycleways or pathways. Mums are the ones walking on pathways with their kids, they know what's safe and what's not."
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
