HEADING TOWARD ZERO - DO “RAY-GUN” AND THE SMRC HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON?
by Reuben Rose
The Paris Olympics were exciting, and Australians’ hunger for gold medals was almost completely satisfied. Our athletes, who had trained with early morning starts and extraordinary commitment, demonstrated their performances were world-class.
You can imagine my shock then, when I discovered that in some backroom move by French “hip hop” advocates, “breaking” became an Olympic sport. I’d imagined that for a sport to enter the hallowed halls of the great Olympic tradition, there must be a rigorous process. Clearly, there was an obscure process, and it seems that no one in Australia knew about this opportunity, apart from “Ray-Gun” (Dr Rachael Gunn)—also known as “B-Girl Raygun”!
Her performance (if it can be called that) broke the internet. I have lived in the U.S. for various periods, and there is no news about Australia apart from stories about crocodile or shark attacks. So it was extraordinary to see that “Raygun” was suddenly everywhere as the videos of her performance went viral.
The prestigious Forbes Magazine even ran a full-length article commencing with:
“Some netizens were less than impressed, posting messages like “There’s 27.7 million Australians in the world and that’s who they send to the Olympics for this inaugural event??? C’mon now!” Others expressed doubt about breaking’s inclusion in the Olympics.”
And the netizens are correct. Was this the best that this sport-loving nation could do and have our break dancing representative sent at great expense to Paris, to score zero?
Forbes Magazine attempted to present “Raygun’s” performance in a positive light and in the magazine article, Jason Pu writes toward the end:
“That doesn’t take anything away from the time and effort that it took Raygun to get to the Olympics. She secured a spot by winning the 2023 Oceania Breaking Championship, and she represented Australia at the 2021 and 2022 World Championships. Her style wasn’t enough to pass the group stage in Paris, but she is undoubtedly a qualified representative for her region. The 36-year-old has been breaking since her 20’s and is known as Dr. Gunn when she’s at her day job: lecturing on dance and gender politics at Macquarie University.
At the end of the day, it’s all about positivity…”
Figure 1. One of the many wonderful memes that followed “Raygun’s” performance
Well – no! It’s not about positivity. I am a positive guy and my group standing for election for the Snowy Monaro Regional Council (SMRC) are positive people. However, performance matters – in life and in the work of local councils.
There is no doubt that Raygun’s Olympic performance has attracted international attention. A BBC website reported on the 18th August from a “breaking” competition at a Sydney warehouse, where an important qualifying competition was taking place :
““I feel like it's just pushed our scene in Australia into the Dark Ages,” Australian hip-hop pioneer Spice told the BBC.
Gunn, a 36-year-old university lecturer, lost all three of her Olympic battles in viral fashion, her green tracksuit and unorthodox routine – which included the sprinkler and kangaroo-inspired hopping – generating waves of memes and abuse.
The fallout has divided and disappointed the Australian breaking community.
“It made a mockery of the Australian scene and I think that's why a lot of us are hurting,” Spice says.”
LESSONS FOR THE SMRC
Like “Raygun”, it’s not enough for someone to say of the council: “they tried their best”. There is a right to an expectation of competence, dedication, and performance, from those to whom we provide taxpayer support.
It’s not a long bow to draw, from the zero score of “Raygun” to the low 2-3% “very satisfied” score by ratepayers in relation to the performance of the SMRC. The difference is that the performance of the SMRC didn’t break “the internet”. In fact, it seems to be a well-guarded secret, perhaps even from the current councillors!
Figure 1. Results of satisfaction survey conducted for the SMRC
As we look at our local landscape, it shocks me to see that the evidence of ratepayers’ dissatisfaction and low scores has been repeated for many consecutive years, and the current council doesn’t seem have heard the message and prioritised the core issues. The SMRC’s performance is also low compared to other councils in the state.
Figure 2. Results of SMRC compared to other regional NSW councils. From SMRC survey
The survey results on council performance have been not just telling, but damning, and yet there is no change on the horizon. Indeed, senior staff presented councillors with a proposal to spend $40+ million dollars for the new “Taj Mahal” council chambers in Cooma. How did this item even get onto the council agenda?
In the meantime, as our roads decay and our infrastructure crumbles, there is every chance that someone will be rewarded (like “Raygun”) with a trip to Paris. New councillors are needed to take ratepayers’ concerns seriously.
In fact, “Raygun”, looks like she’s going to fail upwards. Great financial deals are coming her way. A recent article in Bored Panda suggests:
“While some see her Olympic performance as a disaster, Raygun still has the chance to earn millions because of the way she was catapulted to fame.
“She has an enormous brand,” marketing and public relations expert Max Markson told the Daily Mail Australia. “Her reputation in Australia isn’t that great, but she is famous across the world.”
In contrast to “Raygun”, I don’t see any opportunities for the SMRC to generate millions from its “brand”. I have heard arguments that the current council is “trying their best” and there are many constraints because of “rules” by state and federal governments .
It is vital that councillors work to overcome constraints and respond to concerns that the public has long expressed. We don’t even have to guess. The council surveys tell us that the top concerns of residents are: poor communication, the need for better roads, the rates are too high and council is wasteful.
As we look at the Council and its performance since amalgamation, it has become increasingly clear that we’re seeing our own “Raygun” moment, as the council moves its “complete satisfaction” score toward zero.
It is the intention of Group F to show that our experiences in business, change management, budgetary crisis management, and stakeholder engagement make us uniquely suited to tackle the problems in the region. Independent, we do not serve a political master or the machinations of their funders. We believe that what we bring is the integrity, determination, and skills to bring the accountability to ratepayers that our region deserves. Undoubtedly current councillors are well meaning, but as I always say: “Bad systems will beat good people 100% of the time”. We need to install new councillors whose focus will be to address ratepayers’ concerns and oversee implementation of better systems.
It is an unavoidable truth that if our expectations are only ever set on “having a go”, then the only thing we can expect is more zeroes. This time, they’ll be preceded by increasingly higher numbers on your rates bill!
THOSE WHO HAVE CAUSED THE PROBLEMS, CAN’T FIX THEM. FOR AN ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT AND COMPETENT COUNCIL, VOTE 1 ABOVE THE LINE FOR GROUP F.
If we could get all six of our group onto Council, it would be a great result. However, this is far from likely. Therefore, we need to get other independent councillors onto the council who have a commitment to transparency and better governance.
Thus, we recommend voting some preferences (above the line, 2 to 5) for Groups A, B, H and G to see a new independent SMRC council representing ratepayers on the Snowy-Monaro.