TAMWORTH councillor Mark Rodda says a $3200 media training course in Sydney could be more valuable than some conferences attended by council representatives.
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A council vote is needed to approve Cr Rodda’s request to undertake media training in Sydney next month.
The second-term councillor said it would help him communicate better with ratepayers and fellow councillors.
The recently revised Local Government Act now instructs councillors to make an effort to acquire and maintain necessary skills for the elected role.
The $3200 price-tag for the Sydney-based training would be deducted from the $4500 annual allowance afforded to each councillor to attend conferences, workshops and non-council functions and events.
He said communicating in the media was something councillors had to do and it was a skill he felt he needed to improve.
“Any expenditure of ratepayer’s money will be scrutinised by many in the community for a lot of reasons,” Cr Rodda told The Leader.
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“Why’s that councillor has spent $3000 on this when it could be spent fixing the footpath out the front of my place?
“If it means elected representatives are going to do their jobs better, then it is a good spend.”
It could more beneficial than allowance spent on attending conferences, he said.
The councillor is openly critical of local, state and federal governments on social media but said the course wasn’t forced training.
He denied he was honing his media skills to jump to another tier of government.
“If they say no you can’t attend, I’m not going to lose any sleep,” he said.
Council approved a request from Glenn Inglis who sought to attend the Australian Governance Summit at the end of this week.
Last month, Armidale councillors cried foul over a draft media policy which would gag councillors, other than the mayor, from commenting on council affairs through the media.