General News
9 October, 2024
Candidate turnout a washout
Fewer than one in five candidates in the region's upcoming council elections have responded to a statewide survey conducted by a local government watchdog.
Council Watch, an apolitical independent body dedicated to "keeping them honest", has drawn responses from would-be councillors across Victoria to a comprehensive online questionnaire.
But only one candidate from Yarriambiack Shire - Corinne Heintze - responded.
All six nominees for Yarriambiack Shore Council are due to be elected unopposed.
Seven of Horsham's 15 candidates have taken part, but only one each from Hindmarsh and Northern Grampians - and none from West Wimmera.
Chan Uoy is the survey's sole representative aiming to take a seat at the chamber in Hindmarsh.
Lauren Dempsey was the only one of 15 candidate for Northern Grampians to respond, while four of Buloke's contenders answered the call: Daryl Warren, Bruce Stafford, Stephen Barratt and Kevin Thomas O'Dea.
Council Watch president Dean Hurlston said voters across Victoria were sick of single-issue candidates who did not listen to their community, or candidates that said one thing and did another when elected.
"We simply want communities to be better informed," he said.
Eleven of the region's 58 candidates have so far responded to the survey.
A Council Watch analysis of voter sentiment conducted in August found community satisfaction low across the state.
Roads and footpaths were by far the hottest areas in which voters wanted to see better service delivery - and a whopping nine out of 10 voters say councils should engage more in public consultation.
Yarriambiack was among the lowest ranked council in the state for providing services. Northern Grampians was rated the best.
The voter survey was conducted via social media during the last two weeks of August.
There were more than 1800 responses from across all municipalities, with the exception of West Wimmera.
To see which candidates from your local council responded to the Council Watch survey, visit https://councilwatch.com.au/vicanswers
* The Wimmera Mallee News group - publisher of Warracknabeal Herald, The Horsham Times, Dimboola Banner and Rainbow Argus - will be publishing its own candidates survey over the next two weeks.