At any one time, across the vast Albury electorate, there are a number of clashes between groups with different agendas, or who support or oppose a government policy. This is how it has always been – and how it probably will be forever.

We simply do not all want the same things, or agree on how to get there. No problems with that. 

People meet me at many community meetings, from Tumbarumba to Jingellic, Corowa to Howlong and down Dean Street. I hear a lot about what people want and how their lives, families and businesses are faring in this corner of Australia.

Occasionally – but nevertheless regularly – I meet the person who wants more than just to be part of the democratic process. The pitch goes like this: “I know the way this works. You’re the state member. You’ve got influence. Just phone up the person in charge/administrator/committee chair and have a word in their ear!”

Well, no.

There is a name for political representatives who do this … and several are currently spending time at Her Majesty’s pleasure, in a lock-up in Sydney.

No right-thinking politician will take a role in the old stinking game of perverse Monopoly. “You put a word in the right place, I buy the property under one name, then an associate takes the lease (at a favourable rent) and a sub-lease is then procured to move the money off-shore …” And so on.

I’m not saying that corruption doesn’t go on. Personal influence will always be a potent force in the marketplace and it would be foolish to ignore its attraction. But I remain surprised when business people act as though all this whispering and meddling is normal and acceptable, and indeed that the role of the political representative is to intervene in formal processes, whether administrative or even quasi-judicial (such as a Hearing), to advance the interests of a business, a person or an organisation.

In Australia, thankfully, we have tried hard to move on. What needs to be understood is that many key community and policy processes have been handed over from politicians and government ministers to expert, or at least impartial, bodies.

This is part of a movement to try to see that allocation of state resources is determined on a basis of need. I am not so naïve as to think we have got the balance right yet, but this is the direction of travel at a policy-making level.

Where once a minister might have directed a tribunal or administrator in a particular situation, our society increasingly has inserted a space of independence. Groups of peers determine where, for example, much of the government funding for the arts or sport ends up.

The role of the political representative – like me – is to help a local person or business get an opportunity to provide input to a process or draft legislation, to find the very best contact in government for them to talk to or meet, or to get a decision or process reviewed at a high level.

“Influence”, as a word, has its origin in mediaeval Latin. It means literally to “in flow”. Its nuanced meaning was established by the 13th century, as “imperceptible or indirect action exerted to cause changes”.

For 800 years we’ve had a word for this slightly covert, possibly unethical way of bringing about change (i.e. getting what you want).

Sounds shady, doesn’t it?

Greg Aplin is the Member for Albury in the NSW Parliament.