Just as the residents of Wollongong and Shellharbour prepare to go to the polls to elect new councils, the affairs of neighbouring council - Kiama - spin into turmoil because one if it's elected councillors is suggesting he will retain office - but represent his council from another country.
It seems that Deputy Mayor Ben van der Wijngaart has had the good luck to snare a plum job - in New Zealand, and he proposes to retain his seat on Kiama council - and continue to represent his supporters on a long distance basis. He promises that he will fly to Australia each month and spend an entire week here - thus being available to ratepayers and keeping in touch with matters before council.
Legally, there seems no reason to prevent such an arrangement , but it is hardly in the spirit which requires councillors to be both available and have presence in the community they represent - and it does introduce a division of loyalties - which is troubling.
If some ratepayers are questioning the ability of their deputy mayor to adequately undertake his council duties, does this split responsibility and shared time do justice to the new job he is accepting in the commercial world ?
Clover Moore is criticised for holding both a seat in parliament and the job as Mayor of Sydney council - but at least she lives in the same country - and indeed the same city.
There is no present obligation - morally or legally - for an elected person to live within the area they represent, and maybe it is time that was brought into focus. To allow this intended scenario to proceed is to make a mockery of the obligations that go with holding office !
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