{"status": "ok", "message": "Success!", "html": "\u003Cp\u003EI am very much in favour of a \u0026quot;ward\u0026quot; arrangement as it not only guarantees the voices of all areas of the shire are  heard but also their representatives have a decision making impact in Council deliberations.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI believe the wards might be chosen on the criteria : 1) geography 2) lifestyles 3) issues.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI would prefer the represetatives to number the same from each ward in a similar way that the Federal Senate is comprised ie the same number of senators from each state. \u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThis then guarantees the residents of smaller inhabited areas a \u0026quot;real\u0026quot; representation - (as per my comments in parag 1).\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI might venture to nominate those Wards as 1) Port city surrounds and North Beach 2) Lake Cathie to Laurieton and Kew and 3) Kendal to Wauhope and surrounds. Maybe another, where thought fit.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EI do not have a definte number of reps in mind, but maybe 2 or 3 from each ward might be sufficient ie 9 or 12.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EEach of the above 3 wards are unique in some way in all 3 criteria mentioned above and deserve equal representation.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom conversations had over many years the common complaint has always been that Council has been \u0026quot;Port Centric\u0026quot; and outer areas are considered of less importance.\u003C/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWhether this is true or not is NOT the point. It's the perception that needs to be addressed and I believe the Ward system would go a long way to restoring confidence in a Council structured in such a way. \u003C/p\u003E\u0026nbsp;"}