It was rather disconcerting to see analysis of the recent local government elections in New South Wales focusing on their impact on state and federal politics.
For someone who believes party politics should be banned from local government, I fear this could signal the beginning of the end of independent representation at local level.
Councils are meant to be about grassroots politics, where people run to make their communities a better place.
A council of independent peers generally ensures the community is well represented, but as we’ve seen in surrounding municipalities, party politics has a knack of hijacking this ideal.
While candidates running under the Labor, Liberal or Greens flag provide an idea of the kind of policies they would adopt, we have to make sure that they will ultimately vote for what’s best for the people who voted for them rather than their party machine.
There have been some excellent councillors who are members of political parties but have managed to remain largely independent. However, if political analysis continues to link local government with the state and federal sphere, the major parties will seek to have more influence in the result to ensure it doesn’t reflect poorly on their overall standing. Voters need to ensure their vote isn’t influenced by state or federal politics.
There’s nothing wrong with voting for a candidate with party affiliations, but it would be a shame if they get in based on what’s happening in Spring Street or Canberra, rather than what they can offer Maribyrnong.
■ While the council elections won’t be decided until October 27, postal vote papers arrive in registered voters’ letterboxes this week. We’ve invited River and Stony Creek wards candidates to tell us what they feel are the biggest issues in Maribyrnong. See their profiles on pages 8-9.
