Confused about what’s going on at the Kangaroo Island Council?
No one could be blamed for a sense of bemusement at the antics of councillors in and outside the chamber. It would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.
This column has reported regularly in the past 18 months about the behaviour and attitude of councillors but it seems the problems, rather than being worked out in an adult and sensible way - are becoming more entrenched.
This latest episode about alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct gives an insight into the relationships between the councillors.
But it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Many of the Code of Conduct report findings have not been released or are still being assessed by internal or external panels. Some may never be released under confidentiality provisions.
And this is apart from the complaints already investigated by the Ombudsman and the ongoing investigation by that office into breaches of confidence, which has been underway since the start of the year.
At the core of the problem is a lack of teamwork. A sense of common purpose has been replaced with suspicion, division, mistrust and frustration.
In the workplace as in a sports team, individuals have to learn to cope with personal differences, how to work together for the greater good and how to support less experienced or less able team members. A team still respects individuals but there is a common goal.
A team-building exercise might be just what our councillors need but there still needs to be goodwill to achieve any outcome.
From the evidence of last week’s meeting, goodwill is at a very low ebb among our councillors. Any solution seems far off.