Local politics in Cowra Shire were specialised. The non-issues over matters which had a substantial bearing on the life chances and living conditions of Cowra residents implicitly pose the question of what did or could become an issue. Issues certainly arose. The Council split into factions and councillors engaged in spirited debate. Such debate, however, was precipitated by conflict between the councillors and the Council's senior officers, which dominated Council affairs. This distracted attention from matters which were allowed to become, or were turned into, non-issues and, moreover, helped to maintain a popular definition of local politics which enhanced the political resources of people with business and farm interests while denying resources to others.

Perspectives on councillor–officer relations

Two interpretations of relations between elected representatives and the bureaucracy are particularly prominent in the literature. One assumes that bureaucracy is an independent and powerful actor in political relations. The second suggests that bureaucracy and a business elite form a unified powerful force. There are other possibilities: pluralism, with bureaucratic and other interests opposed but balanced; and a democratic ideal in which the bureaucracy is not a significant power actor. These are rendered unlikely by the elitist tradition of local government and the prominent role which bureaucracy has played in it.

Bureaucracy poses fundamental problems for the operation of democratic government when it is viewed as an independent actor in power relations, by decreasing the likelihood of the democratic ideal in which the bureaucracy is independent but insignificant.