It's been a year like no other. Festivals cancelled, sport called off, students learning from home rather than classrooms, pubs and restaurants closed. Will council elections be added to the cancelled list as well?
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
South-west councils have just six weeks left until they enter caretaker periods ahead of October's elections.
But with stage three restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus in place across regional Victoria and stage four restrictions applying to metropolitan Melbourne, Premier Dan Andrews is under pressure to delay the elections.
Those who want the elections to go ahead argue they can because they are conducted via postal ballots and that's about as safe as you can get during a pandemic. They also argue it's important democratic rights are maintained and sitting councillors have already served four years and if they want to step aside, they should be allowed to.
But councillors like Corangamite's Ruth Gstrein, who is also the deputy president of the Municipal Association of Victoria's rural division, says polls need to be deferred. She says it's impossible for fresh candidates to adequately campaign when they can't doorknock or meet people in the street because of pandemic restrictions.
The state government has previously rejected calls to defer elections but with Mr Andrews refusing to rule out further restrictions in coming days or weeks, the government has no choice.
As unpopular as it will be to delay grassroots democracy, the government needs to make the call because there must be a level playing field for candidates. Incumbents already have an advantage because they invariably have profiles in the community. What hope will fresh faces have?
What if prospective candidates are put off by the disadvantage or possible health concerns? What if all existing councillors are returned because fresh candidates couldn't press the flesh? We need competition, we need as many strong candidates as we can find across all south-west councils because more than ever, we need strong, decisive leadership and people willing and able to unite in the community's best interests.
