A school playground.

OR

A meeting of Lithgow City Council.

If you chose ‘B’, congratulations; you must reside within our beautiful Local Government Area.

Unfortunately this probably isn’t a question that you had difficulty answering as our local council meetings seem to be a little bit of history repeating.

If you haven’t witnessed some of the extraordinary behaviour on display at a council meeting, get in quick - it has to be seen to be believed.

Time is running out, however, with local council elections approaching.

Those who regularly attend council meetings must surely be fed up by the time wasting tactics of squabbling and posturing that have become commonplace among some  of our elected officials.

Case in point was Monday’s council meeting.

Those seasoned meeting-goers should have known that something as innocent as a community satisfaction survey could be a powder keg waiting to explode; how right they were.

A simple discussion on improving infrastructure became an unnecessary council shouting match.

This indicates perhaps that it is the infrastructure of the council itself that needs improvement.

The bemused public gallery could only look on in resignation as multiple councillors shouted at each other, completely throwing out any semblance of decorum – or productivity.

It certainly gave the gallery some comic relief (albeit unintentionally).

With the grim spectre of council amalgamations still looming, it has never been more crucial to ensure your precious vote does not go to waste for the benefit of our entire LGA. 

As we saw in the recent federal elections, every single vote does indeed count.

When the time comes to cast your vote and chose who will represent you on the Lithgow City Council, think long and hard before you shrug it off as pointless and throw your vote away.

Because when the time comes and you decide to dust off the soap box and complain about ‘that darn council’, no one will be listening.