"YOU'RE so keen to save my soul but not my life!"
These were the words of Parramatta councillor Lorraine Wearne at Monday night's council meeting during debate on the city's anti-smoking policy — again.
She was referring to Liberal councillors' support for starting each council meeting with a prayer, while deciding to overturn the council's previous ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas.
"This council doesn't know how to govern at the moment," Cr Wearne told the meeting.
"Don't overturn a policy this city and council adopted after repeated consultation with the community because of the influence of a few."
It's the seventh time Parramatta council has discussed the smoking policy in the past three years with the rescission motion, lodged by Labor councillors to reinstate the ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas, lost.
Councillor Scott Lloyd, who initiated overturning the ban, argued the council was giving choice back to the community and bringing the council's policy in to line with state government legislation, which will ban smoking in outdoor dining areas by 2015.
Smoking is now allowed in outdoor dining areas, but restaurants who go smoke-free before 2015 will get a lease reduction.