Shoalhaven Election Donations - new law call
Friday, 17 December 2004 10:00
The funding returns which show a total of $91,000 to the Shoalhaven Independents Group headed by Mayor Greg Watson, most of which was from real estate development and associated industries were described by the Total Environment Centre as "further entrenching community scepticism about the integrity of local government".
"The funding enabled this group to spend $96,000 on TV, radio, and newspaper advertisements, as well as letterboxing countless rounds of brochures, postcards and other material, saturating the electorate with their propaganda and making all other candidates fade into insignificance on the publicity front," said TEC coastal campaigner Fran Kelly.
"The amounts donated, some of which came to more than $10,000 from individual development companies registered outside the Shoalhaven helped ensure the Shoalhaven Independents Group got a majority on Council. No one else stood a chance," said Ms Kelly.
"Some of the donors have proposals for subdivisions, rezonings and development in the Shoalhaven now. It brings into question the whole process of local government elections and makes it seem peculiar that councillors are legally forbidden from voting on matters to do with land they or a relative owns, yet can vote on the projects of an individual or company that has helped get them elected through major donations to their election campaign."
"No wonder the public so often perceives their local council as representing the interests of a few rather than the entire electorate, not necessarily voting on the full merits of a development or planning issue, and ignoring matters such as the environment and residential amenity. This election funding issue makes the idea that local government elections are truly democratic a bit of a farce really," said Ms Kelly
"We have written to the Local Government Minister, Tony Kelly, requesting that he reform the laws with what would be popular and morally difficult to challenge changes to the Local Government Act. Changes we have suggested include preventing councillors from voting on development or rezoning matters connected to organisations or individuals who have donated to their election campaign; capping the extent of donations and expenditure on publicity that can occur at local government elections, and making all candidates publically declare any donations made prior to each election".
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