22 candidates, 9 positions available
By Catherine Watson
TWENTY-two of our fellow citizens have raised their hands, eager to serve us over the next four years. Now it’s up to us to choose nine of them for the new Bass Coast Shire Council.
With ballot papers due to arrive in our mailboxes this week, here is the Post’s survey of candidates to help you choose the one who will best represent your own concerns and values.
TWENTY-two of our fellow citizens have raised their hands, eager to serve us over the next four years. Now it’s up to us to choose nine of them for the new Bass Coast Shire Council.
With ballot papers due to arrive in our mailboxes this week, here is the Post’s survey of candidates to help you choose the one who will best represent your own concerns and values.
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Throughout Victoria, this year’s local council elections are being portrayed as a battle between “woke” and “back to basics” candidates wanting their councils to refocus on more traditional areas of concern.
The president of the conservative Council Watch, Dean Hurley, actually describes it as “an ideological war” between communities and their councils. The Council Watch survey questions candidates about their attitudes to Australia Day and climate change and asks them to pledge to avoid federal and international issues, if elected, and to advocate for a back-to-basics action plan. There are shades of the same battle playing out in Bass Coast where conservative candidates are looking to wrest back control of Bass Coast after three progressive councils, stretching back to 2012, that have supported measures related to climate action, reconciliation, marriage equality and gender equity. |
By the numbers
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Five candidates explicitly nominate “core services” as one of their five major issues in the Post survey, while six nominate roads, potholes and drainage.
Yet non-core issues dominate the top 10 candidate responses. By far the most pressing issue nominated by candidates is coastal erosion. While the local impact is immense, the council can play only a minor role in tackling it.
In the old days, most candidates would have promised to reduce rates but that’s no longer an issue given the State Government’s imposition of rate increase capping tied to the Consumer Price Index.
My tip: pay special attention to the responses about community involvement. If someone suddenly professes a public spirited desire to help us, and has shown no community involvement in the past, they probably have a different agenda.
Yet non-core issues dominate the top 10 candidate responses. By far the most pressing issue nominated by candidates is coastal erosion. While the local impact is immense, the council can play only a minor role in tackling it.
- Coastal erosion (11).
- Transparency, accountability and governance (8).
- Community services and family support (7)
- Environment (6)
- Fix roads, potholes, drains (6)
- Core services (5)
- Rubbish/waste collections (5)
- Sustainable tourism (4)
- Protect town boundaries (4)
- More support for farmers (3)
In the old days, most candidates would have promised to reduce rates but that’s no longer an issue given the State Government’s imposition of rate increase capping tied to the Consumer Price Index.
My tip: pay special attention to the responses about community involvement. If someone suddenly professes a public spirited desire to help us, and has shown no community involvement in the past, they probably have a different agenda.