Article originally posted in the St George Leader, by Maria Galinovic, May 25, 2014
And not because he favours Hurstville, Rockdale and Kogarah councils joining up to create a greater St George council. Nor is an amalgamation part of The Greens policy.
Nathan, 17, believes in the democratic process and grass-roots engagement. He said the prospect of local government reform is important enough to be taken seriously by politicians, councillors and ratepayers.
“St George Greens propose that any recommendation to amalgamate would require a referendum of the citizens in the affected area,” Nathan said.
“In the eyes of St George Greens, no amalgamation is legitimate until it is endorsed by the mandate of the people. We hold the view that politicians serve the public, not the other way around.”
But more needed to be done before a referendum was considered.
“The debate is uninformed,” Nathan said.
“St George Greens want the best outcome for ratepayers. We believe that if the state government wants a merger, then it should justify why it would be of benefit to ratepayers.
“When people are presented with the facts they can then make their decision in the subsequent referendum.”
He said The Greens would wait for the facts before deciding whether the proposal had a public benefit.
The Georges River College HSC student has been a member of The Greens for several months and said he joined the party because its philosophy included grass-roots democracy, social justice, care for the environment and non-violence.
He said many young people were not interested in politics because there was a perception that politicians were only concerned with their own agenda.
“People are not interested because they are not given a choice: it’s all about empowering them,” he said. “In The Greens a simple member can have an impact on the affairs of the nation, whereas other parties make policies on the run.”
■ The subject of amalgamating the three St George councils was brought up recently by Rockdale mayor Shane O’Brien.
He said Rockdale supported the idea in principle as long as there was no detrimental financial affect on the councils. He suggested public consultation.”