Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 287
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to me urgently about a whole host of matters.
I was happy to oblige--looking forward to making new contacts, and to learning about the local organisations. However, I found two very different attitudes to communication.
Gavin Anderson was the President of Warringah Shire Council. An affable silver-haired electrical engineer; he had once been a member of the ALP, had left after a squabble and now tended to support the local Liberals. With a forthright, practical approach to politics, he would talk to anybody who could get things done.
The President was friendly and helpful to Tom Webster and me. We were introduced to the senior staff of the Council and lines of communication were quickly set up. There was a tacit understanding between us that a two-way flow of information was of mutual benefit, and that political tricks were not on--at least until the next election.
Anderson and I exchanged private telephone numbers and started to call each other regularly, cutting red tape and speeding up the process of government.
Joan Thorburn, The Mayor of the Municipality of Manly, could never have been a member ofthe Labour Party. Of course, the working class had a place in the scheme of things, but she recognised a higher destiny for herself.