Pre-poll voting in the Port Macquarie-Hastings LGA is well underway, and may account for around 25 % of the total council vote.
Unfortunately there appear to be many residents and ratepayers who have not availed themselves of opportunities to ‘eye-ball’ the candidates, listen to their views, and judge how they perform. Under these circumstances, the task of making an intelligent selection of the best person for mayor and selecting a balanced team of 8 councillors is extremely difficult.
The selection of a mayor should be straightforward. Of the eight hopefuls named on the small ballot paper, there is only one candidate who has served as a councillor, and is experienced in how councils work. This candidate is truly independent and would serve the community well.
Voters are then confronted with the confusing option of voting ‘above or below the line’ when selecting 8 councillors. The uninformed and/or unthinking voter will ‘escape’ faster from the booth by voting above the line. However, some excellent choices among the 12 ungrouped candidates would be unfairly overlooked.
Voters are therefore urged to vote below the line when choosing 8 councillors.
One of the advantages of an extended pre-polling period is that pamphlets put out by the candidates can be collected and pondered over prior to voting at a later date.
John Lusk,
Dunbogan
