I have been in Canberra for the last few days at the Australian Local Government Association National General Assembly in my capacity as a Councillor for the Berri Barmera Council. (A bit of a mouthful!)

It has been interesting and enlightening. There is a common theme and that is although ‘we’ are all part of Local Government and part of the greater State and Federal Government machine, we all are missing our local communities; some have travelled thousand of kilometres to be here. It is the last day of the conference and the meeting of the Australian Council of Local Government – feeling lost? Welcome to the ‘learning cliff’ I am on in my first term of Council.

I have posted a few things on my Facebook page under my own name at: https://www.facebook.com/ian.schlein. There is a little video of me asking a question at the Assembly and I am looking very ‘clever and informed’. Lucky there is no audio on the clif as my question was ‘Do we have an acronym dictionary because I don’t know what most of them mean?”

So, I come home, I believe better informed, a little better networked and enthused to do the job I was elected to do. Remembering we, the elected members are supported by our “professional staff’ and particularly our Chief Executive Officers who were all selected on merit and the ability to do their job. Whereas, all of us elected members were selected because we were popular.

Remember next time when you go to hospital for an operation that you ask for the most popular surgeon!!??

My point today is not really about all the above except that I think all of the true representatives of our communities just want to be home with our communities, plus our friends and families.

Today, not that long ago, my very best mate rang me with sad news.

He is in that group of mates I call my ‘band of brothers’ some of who are sisters. We say fair well with LYLAB(S), Love You Like a Brother/Sister. They are the people I know will come when I call and I will go when they call and we don’t need to know what the call is for.

My ‘brother’ called me today and told me his old Dad had passed away. I cried. I was at the assembly, conference, meeting, presentations about ‘running the world’ and I cried.

Because community is everything, but family is final. His Dad was like my Dad which is what if is like with my band of Brothers, it is all about family.

It made me think about the real reason I joined Council, which initially I told people was to cause trouble and get some of my rates back; when really it was about family, the families that made up my community.

I will miss you Ron Foenander.

I will be there for my mate, for his family for his community.

I am proud to be on the Berri Barmera Council; I feel greater pride in having good friends and being a good friend.

LYLAB LYLAS