I did not attend last night's Politics in the Pub, that had the theme What is your great idea for Fremantle? I do however want to share what Councillor Hannah Fitzhardinge, who is standing for the Mayor of Fremantle at the October 16 Local Government Election, had to say because in my opinion she is spot on! Here is what Fitzhardinge said:

"Tonight I want to talk about a simple idea. It should be an expectation, a shared value, something we should take for granted. It shouldn't be a big idea, but perhaps at the moment it is.Tonight, I want to talk about kindness and a civil society. The idea is simple – we cannot build up the city we love, by tearing each other down. Should this lead to monoculture, group think, a dictatorship? Of course not! The best ideas are generated by building on, not tearing down, the ideas of others. If we can't listen with open hearts and open minds, we never get beyond our own egocentric view of 'how the world should be', to imagine, with others, how we can create a shared future that goes beyond our own personal wants and needs.

Social media is not helpful when it comes to genuine conversations with people. It's often an echo chamber, where name-calling, shaming, trolling find their home. If you find yourself on social media in a discussion that wouldn't be acceptable in your own lounge-room, can I suggest you block, delete and leave. Your life will be the better for it. As someone who has put myself forward for public office, I knew this would be part of the deal. Early on, when I made the decision to run for Mayor, I wrote some Principles for my conduct and that of my team. The number one principle was "Look forward – be positive about the future and don't get caught up in other people's agendas". The second was "Kindness, always."I hope that I will be able to look back on this campaign and say that we lived by those principles, and that we won on those principles."

Hear, hear! Well said, Hannah Fitzhardinge!

Roel Loopers