SEVERAL years ago, then Perth councillor Lisa Scaffidi aired some views on local government.
In response, I wrote to the effect that Ms Scaffidi had more sense in a single hair of her head than the entire bunch of WA veteran councillors.
Today, the same sentiment probably holds true regarding the now Lord Mayor of Perth and our entire bunch of WA politicians.
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READ NOWIn recognising this, an adviser to the Barnett Government probably suggested that the Lord Mayor should be invited to join delegates attending an energy conference over four days in Scotland in September, the focus being Offshore Europe: the next 50 years.
The invitation would likely include all expenses (estimated $15,000) paid. And there’s the rub.
Ms Scaffidi’s conscience, I believe, would make it impossible for her to appear to be in the pocket of the ruling Liberal Party.
She will join the delegation only with a majority of City of Perth councillors agreed upon the City footing the bill. These councillors, in turn, are obliged to consider the trip in the best interests of our capital city’s ratepayers, and of WA.
Let me save Ms Scaffidi repeating for the umpteenth time that Perth’s civic leader and first woman lord mayor is without interest in state or federal politics.
Family apart, her first love is, and always has been, the city of her birth. By now there can be few who doubt this ” even her mainly faceless critics who fear change even in the name of improvement.
Over almost six years, her incredible energy has been a major factor in the city’s rejuvenation and transformation.
Once in Scotland, the runner-up in the World Mayor contest for 2013 would most probably have a quicker and more comprehensive grasp of what is likely to go on there than any of her fellow WA delegates.
These most likely would be fighting jetlag, a temporary affliction to which the frequently flying, long-distance lord mayor seems immune.