Local council election delay another cat amongst Parliament pigeons
This week, the upper house will vote on delaying local council elections until April next year. Mike Smithson takes a look at how it might play out in Parliament.
Newbie politicians on North Terrace probably did not envisage being at the business end of legislative decision-making so early in their careers.
One Nation MPs are playing a noteworthy role in the new parliament, and their approach to another pivotal bill on Thursday will generate more noise.
After a bleeding-heart plea from the Electoral Commission of SA (ECSA), politicians will need to vote on whether to delay local government elections, due in November, until next April.
Acting Commissioner Leah McLay says she’s awaiting the findings of an independent review into what went so wrong with the recent state election before she can proceed with the council voting process.
In other words, is ECSA’s workload way too much in the current timeframe, coming hot on the heels of a state election which was mired in bungles and controversy?
Delaying council elections requires a change to legislation and must be dealt with quickly before the parliamentary winter recess.
The Libs can’t see justification for a date change , and now One Nation is also throwing a cat amongst the pigeons with virtually no chance of supporting a delay.
But Upper House Labor and Green numbers will ensure the election pause button is pressed and ECSA can breathe a little easier.
Greens leader Rob Simms sees a greater risk in potentially forcing another bad election process than allowing a delay for ECSA to get its act together.
On the other side of the political coin, One Nation says that democracy delayed is democracy denied.
Come what may, it always has an eye to the future.
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It made me wonder if Pauline Hanson’s party is now also poised to have a major influence in politics at the SA local government level.
Too right they are.
The party is yet to formally decide on whether it will run or support candidates, but momentum is certainly building.
There is a high-power meeting in Canberra this week where the idea will be discussed.
State party president and MLC Carlos Quaremba has a particular focus on local government having served on Victor Harbor City Council for three years.
One Nation has every right to support and influence candidates who follow its conservative ideologies.
Those contesting elected positions could go under the registered banner of One Nation, or not, but would strictly have to follow the hardline philosophies that this conservative party talks about every day.
“It’s not like we’re going to go in and tinker with immigration or climate change at this level,” Quaremba said.
“It’s about transparency, accountability and all-round conservative values.”
The mere fact that these elections are likely to be delayed for six months will expose a gaping spanner in the cogs turning at a local government level.
And believe me, those vacancies will be ripe for the picking by “you know who”.
Talkback radio ran rife following last week’s ECSA announcement that it wasn’t sufficiently prepared or resourced to oversee the election process.
Some existing councillors, and even mayors up for re-election, are intending to throw in the towel come what may.
They’ve had enough of the bickering and budget brawling around the suburbs and regions and want out.
If the elections are delayed until next year, many councils may be underrepresented or even without a formal quorum to vote on crucial grassroots issues, such as rate setting.
This would notionally give supporters of One Nation the ideal platform to become elected members at that entry level and perhaps move on to higher duties in the future.
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It makes perfect sense in the relentless progression of One Nation, and those in high places in the other major parties on North Terrace, and beyond, probably haven’t even seen it coming.
Last week’s events show how lame and impotent ECSA has become.
On the same day as its plea for mercy to delay the council elections, its boss handed in his notice after racking up almost one hundred days of unexplained, fully paid personal leave.
Behind the scenes, the Premier and Treasurer are undoubtedly saying good riddance to Mick Sherry and thanks for nothing after the shambolic state election process.
It got even worse.
A handful of voters indicated to ABC radio last Friday that they’d received please explain notices from ECSA with the threat of being fined up to $50 for failing to vote, which is compulsory.
The only problem: each caller and texter claimed they’d done nothing wrong and everything right.
They say they voted, as prescribed, and had their names marked off the electoral roll.
One caller said he witnessed his wife filling in her declaration vote, putting it in a sealed envelope and dropping it in the ballot box as is required.
To their shock and horror, they’d then been “fitted up” by the electoral commission with an official please explain.
It appears another gremlin has emerged in ECSA’s workings.
Such abnormalities may be from a small sample of voters or from a specific understaffed booth, of which there were many on March 21.
But it only adds to the perception of incompetence and further exposes an underbelly of doubt.
Local government must be preparing with great trepidation for the coming months , with legitimate fears that council elections will also experience a rough ride.
Whether it’s delayed or somehow proceeds as scheduled depends on Thursday’s voting intentions of our state politicians.
Deep down, they’d be fearing that if the council elections go ahead in November and then hit another iceberg, they’ll be held responsible.
The ECSA hierarchy will say “we told you so”.
What One Nation does is its own business, but there seems to be ample opportunity to make its presence felt once again.
Mike Smithson is a weekend newsreader and political analyst for 7News.
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