The results of 78 local council elections in Victoria will emerge in the next few days. I imagine most residents have moved well past their civic duties to care.
But in a time where people have lost sight of the mechanics of government (note the one-man fix-all du jour) it is worth touching on the impact of cities and municipalities.
Local councils are rather underappreciated in Australia. Things like waste collection, animal management and parks maintenance are seen as mundane. Indeed councils turn up on our radar only when someone gets pinged for branch-stacking, corruption and bullying, or when officials turn 'colourful' like Salim Mehajer (Auburn) and Darryn Lyons (Geelong).
Yet local councils are on the frontline of the many services we have come to expect in advanced societies. Families, in particular, benefit from these services. When I became a mum, with none of the family or cultural support I might have had in the Philippines, I found it comforting to have free access to a maternal and child health nurse. This would be the case for many in our highly diverse municipality.
Moreover, Victorian councils administer around 90 per cent of immunisations due at school age. It runs like clockwork, from my experience, and it brings peace of mind.
Local councils also establish and run libraries, which provide enriching activities for children (from baby 'rhyme time' sessions to school holiday workshops), as well as practical support for Australians from non-English speaking backgrounds, newly arrived migrants, under-resourced students, job seekers and pensioners. The suburban library has never been just a repository for books. It is one of the few inclusive, non-commercial spaces we have.
Many other areas fall under council implementation: early childhood education and care; aged, disability and youth services; maintenance of roads and footpaths; recreational and arts facilities; planning and building permits. These may be far removed from national politics, but they constitute a form of housekeeping that probably makes a more immediate difference than the power plays, culture wars and legislative horse-trading that drive the news.
This is not to say that local government is somehow purer than other levels of government. Its proximity to development decisions, for instance, draws all sorts of opportunists. Poorly thought out regulations can dent small businesses at the till.
"As higher levels of government have become gripped by hyper-partisan politics and corporate interests, the reforms we need to thrive in the next few decades may well come from cities