LOCAL GOVT COMPULSORY VOTING

This has been a long time coming BUT sadly there is more to be done yet. What seems to have been forgotten are all those 'citizens' in local government jurisdictions who are TAXED via their rates or rent who might be left out. They are for whatever reason a part of a Local Govt jurisdiction's 'citizenry' who make communities work, who invest their lives in a place, who raise their families there and more still. 

Currently they are eligible to be registered on the General Managers Role but sadly via subtle obfuscation some GMs and Councillors are disinclined to proactively promote the concept. The fear seems to be that these citizens would disrupt the status quo. 

What is there to fear?

A GM's, or a Mayor's, or whoever's, disinclination to enrol these citizens needs to be circumvented via enabling enrolment via the Electoral Commission via a Statutory Declaration.  The Minister should consider this when he presents his bill to Parliament.

“Everyone who receives protection from the society owes a return for the benefit.”

John Stuart Mill, The Corn Laws

Ray Norman

The government has been criticised for not consulting with Tasmanian councils and the broader community ahead of the introduction of legislation to enforce compulsory voting in local government elections. ............ Local Government Minister Nic Street tabled the bill to enable compulsory voting and simplified preferential voting in Parliament on Tuesday for debate next week. ............ "It's a strange anomaly that we don't require people to vote with local government elections while it's implausible at state and federal elections," he said. ............ READ MORE: Bill for compulsory voting in local government elections introduced "It sends a message that decisions made at local council level are somehow not as important." ............ Should the legislation pass, failure to vote in a future council election will attract a $34.60 fine. ............ If a fine notice is not responded to, the fine is increased to $69.20. ............ READ MORE: Council rates system adds to disadvantage, Mayor tells review ............ A government spokesperson confirmed voting would still be done via post. ............ About 58 per cent of eligible voting Tasmanians cast ballots in the 2018 local government elections. ............ Local Government Association of Tasmania president Christina Holmdahl said the sector supported compulsory voting, but expressed disappointment it hadn't been consulted with before the legislation was introduced. ............ "We have not recently considered the issue of compulsory voting in local government elections, and while the proposal may increase participation in local democracy, this change comes with some risks and importantly councils have not had sufficient time to consider the implications of such significant change," she said.

EDITORIAL 

 Compulsory voting in Tasmanian local government elections should have been in place long before Nic Street surprised councils on Monday by announcing the state government's plans to ensure it is in place before October's scheduled polls. .

Councils and opposition parties have since made noise about their disappointment of not being properly consulted about the decision by the fairly fresh Local Government Minister, despite it being mooted a decade ago and talked about regularly. ................ Tasmania is one of the last states not to have local government compulsory voting, which is bemusing considering exercising your democratic right at both a federal and state level is a must. A pedestrian percentage of people have been voting in local government elections for decades with just 58 per cent of eligible Tasmanians returning a postal ballot in 2018. ................ People in rural areas tend to be more engaged in council elections and who is going to represent them, while those in larger population centres such as Launceston, Devonport and Hobart are disengaged. ................ It is a well-documented fact that Tasmania is over-governed and many councils struggle to find enough councillors to fill positions. ................ So if people have so little interest why should voting be compulsory? ................ Well, hopefully, it might spark some interest and a greater understanding of the closest level of government to the people. ................ People will be forced to take it more seriously and candidates will have to work harder for your vote. Councils are now so must more than rates, road and rubbish. ................ They are heavily involved in strategic planning, community services and support and community issues such as climate change and LGBTIQ+ gender diversity initiatives. It's an important function and people should have a greater say in who is representing them. ................ However, all the councils in Northern Tasmania told The Examiner they were not consulted before the announcement. ................ Making a decision that will enact widespread change to a sector of government surely requires some level of consultation - imagine if this was a section of the community that had been dealt with this top-down approach. It has made the announcement unpalatable for some, and councillors are now scrambling to understand the proposal's full ramifications. ................ For some it will be a hindrance, and for others it will be welcome, but let's hope that moving forward all councillors will be able to have their say and be heard at the table.

It is the citizenry that needs to be heard NOT the Councillors who hold their seats on a minuscule number of votes all too often