In an ideal world, every councillor should be able to contribute their own intelligence, experience and humanity to any discussion they are involved in and any decision they make.

Orange’s current crop of councillors have been drawn from a range of different employment sectors, from small business operators to real estate agents, with a range of interests from the environment to history.

The fact that Orange has no councillors who are women or who identify as an Aboriginal, is something many of us may lament.

In fact, we don’t even have any councillors who are younger than 40.

News Cabonne Council is looking at reducing its number of councillors from 12 to nine is not without merit.

A reduction would result in a cost saving of  about $30,000 a year; money that could be spent upgrading the region’s facilities.

However, it also reduces the likelihood of attracting people with diverse backgrounds.

It also puts more responsibility on council candidates when they’re forming a ticket, to ensure they list under-represented candidates, including women, higher.

The fact that Cabonne already has three female councillors puts it ahead of Orange when it comes to addressing gender imbalances in local government.

In an effort to attract younger councillors Cabonne deputy mayor Lachie MacSmith wants to change council’s meeting time from 1pm, to suit people who work full time.

Any attempt to encourage a diversity of councillors should be encouraged.

Councillors don’t enter politics to serve themselves, they enter politics to service the interests of the diverse population of Orange and Cabonne.