Council operations might seem a dry topic for primary school-aged children but it was an enthusiastic bunch of stage 1 and 2 students from The Sir Henry Parkes Memorial Public School who took over council chambers on Monday morning.
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Being asked what council looks after in the community generated some interesting responses, but ‘robbers’ were left to the care of police and the hospital to the Health Service. Some prompting from mayor Peter Petty and chief executive officer Terry Dodds eventually extracted that council’s responsibilities include local roads, animals, rubbish, sports facilities, halls and the library, which seemed to impress those assembled.
One student managed to slip in a good word for his dad, who works for council and reportedly puts in late hours.
The high point of the visit was getting to sit in the seats of power, with everyone taking a turn in one of the councillor positions. A few even got to sit at the top of the table, in the mayoral spot.
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There was a strong show of hands when Cr Petty asked who would be interested in taking up a councillor position in the future.
The students enjoyed morning tea out front of council offices in Bruxner Park before heading off to to visit local businesses and the library, showground and ambulance station on their excursion.