Ask Robert Wilson how things are going and he will tell you the town is looking great but his farm has been neglected for more than 40 years.
In the words of the 67-year-old grain and sheep producer: “You don’t get involved in local government without leaving a lot of things undone.”
He retires this week, after 43 years spent as a councillor.
“It would be very hard for me now after 23 years at the helm to sit on the backbench, I’ve selected my time to leave,” he said.
And while NSW constituents approach council elections on September 13, the retiring stalwart of Parkes Shire Council in the Central West says the NSW Government should be abolished.
The man who wore the mayoral robes in Parkes for 23 years said councils were under “enormous pressure” because they threatened State Government authority.
Robert remains progressive despite being part of the political establishment in Central West politics.
He speaks from experience when he advises people not to be afraid of council mergers, which were needed to erase the middle tier of governance, he said.
“I’m not an advocate of wholesale amalgamation but for some councils that are economically vulnerable, amalgamation might serve them well,” Robert said.
“It is a fairly fine balancing act – there will always be 40 or so councils on the bottom that will be the most vulnerable.”
Robert, “Mingelo Park” and “Woodleigh”, Peak Hill, found marginal communities were never left swinging by mergers.
He went through the upheaval of not one but two when Peak Hill formed with Goobang Shire; an entity which was later absorbed by Parkes Shire Council.
The council is now in an enviable position at a time when local government finds itself short of money across the State.
It has been debt-free for 12 years and has $43 million invested.
This could explain why there are 18 people competing for 10 positions on the council this year.
Robert maintains shire politics should be taken up by people in their prime and not those wanting to “battle through retirement”.
“There are a lot of people starting when they should be giving up,” he added.
In 1964 he applied for a job as a council clerk but the town clerk talked him out of the job and into a councillor’s chair.
Three weeks before being voted in, the town received a train load of drinking water because of a dry Bogan River.
Not surprisingly, the council’s first job that year was to secure a water supply with a pipeline from an aquifer beneath the Lachlan River at Forbes to Parkes and Peak Hill.
The previous council had lobbied for it successfully even though it did not have the money.
“It was something the community couldn’t afford but the previous council’s philosophy was let’s get it first and they can’t take it away from us and we’ll worry about paying for it later,” Robert said.
“It’s not an unreasonable philosophy but it’s pretty irresponsible.”
He served as Peak Hill mayor for three years after the town’s civic leader, farm lobbyist George Hoy, died in a car crash.
Robert has been married to wife Vicki for more than 30 years and they boast two children, Trudy and Ben.
His family has owned “Mingelo Park” for more than 100 years and there is plenty of work to be done after what he calls “40 years of neglect”.
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