No Lameducks!
Is it just me or does everyone feel very nervous about the upcoming council elections?
A lot of people are focussed on the mayoral race. Today the Sunshine Coast Daily and Channel Seven have published the results of their ‘your coast your say’ survey, which claims Noosa’s Bob Abbott is way ahead of Joe Natoli in the mayoral race.
It’s great that people are thinking about who should be mayor but it’s vital we understand it’s not all about whether we give ‘Big Bob the job’ or ‘Joe a go’.
Let’s say you’re keen on a council that has an environmental focus and a commitment to stick to the town plan (let’s pray, actually, that’s what most of us are keen on). Well, you can’t just rely on the mayor to achieve that – you have to give him a council to work with.
Joe Natoli doesn’t bang on about it – but he’s had a tough time with Maroochy council this past term. I believe Caloundra’s had its fair share of problems too.
Once you know what you want from the super council, you need to do your homework. Find out what division you are in and who the candidates are.
If a sitting member of council is standing again, ask around about their voting record. Have they been committed to upholding the town plan or not?
In the case of new applicants, look at their background and be sure they’re the type of person who will vote for what the people want, not just to keep their mates happy.
A lot of people are focussed on the mayoral race. Today the Sunshine Coast Daily and Channel Seven have published the results of their ‘your coast your say’ survey, which claims Noosa’s Bob Abbott is way ahead of Joe Natoli in the mayoral race.
It’s great that people are thinking about who should be mayor but it’s vital we understand it’s not all about whether we give ‘Big Bob the job’ or ‘Joe a go’.
Let’s say you’re keen on a council that has an environmental focus and a commitment to stick to the town plan (let’s pray, actually, that’s what most of us are keen on). Well, you can’t just rely on the mayor to achieve that – you have to give him a council to work with.
Joe Natoli doesn’t bang on about it – but he’s had a tough time with Maroochy council this past term. I believe Caloundra’s had its fair share of problems too.
Once you know what you want from the super council, you need to do your homework. Find out what division you are in and who the candidates are.
If a sitting member of council is standing again, ask around about their voting record. Have they been committed to upholding the town plan or not?
In the case of new applicants, look at their background and be sure they’re the type of person who will vote for what the people want, not just to keep their mates happy.
posted by Caroline Hutchinson at 9:16 AM
1 Comments:
Hi there.
I see you’re writing about the queensland local council elections - just wondering if you’d like to get involved over at our site qlddecides.com
It’s an initiative run by On Line Opinion, QUT and the Local Government Association of Queensland. We’re running a citizen journalism service to cover every council election in the state.
It would be great to have you on board - we could either cross-post your stuff or you could send stuff directly to me via email. Either way, we’re hoping for a diverse range of stuff on these elections, and we expect the site to get a fair bit of attention.
All the best
Jason
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