All too often, the immediacy of an event, the response required in this time of social media, and the on-going dialogue that transpires from such events, can lead us into places where there is little time to think about what and why we function as local government, and how our communities need the place shaping and strategic planning that local authorities excel at.

Its perhaps no surprise when you look at how our national and regional governance hangs together, wafer thin, bound with structural conflicts – while all the time, the biggest decision the country is about to make on its economic future is imminent.