Ben is joined by Leo Puglisi from 6 News and Chris Eddy from Local Government News Roundup to wrap up the Victorian council elections.
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Very informative podcast.
I would look at the Chanel 6 news website constantly to see the latest results.
VECCI’s proposal, of giving landlords 3 votes, in the City of Melbourne sets a dangerous precedent. The City of Melbourne’s voting system is already un democratic enough, as it favors businesses owners (many of whom don’t even live in the area).
I actually think that the voting system in the City of Melbourne should not be allowed. It is a shocking example of class warfare (not the type that you hear the Liberal Party talk about, or that you read about in the Herald Scum). Both major parties are happy for it to continue as they get a compliant Lord Mayor who will advocate for permit systems for protesters,
Maybe it’s time for a new Inner City Council that would consist of West Melbourne, Docklands, North Melbourne, Parkville, Carlton, and Carlton North (moved from Yarra). Kensington would go into Moonee Valley. The CBD would be in its own council. East Melbourne would go to Yarra. Yarra would lose Carlton North, and Alphington (south of Heidelberg Road) as it would be reunited with the rest of the 3078 region, in Darebin. Fisherman’s Bend would be reunited with the rest of 3207 in Port Phillip. South Bank would be under Port Phillip, and South Yarra west would go into Stonnington, as would Windsor west, and Melbourne 3004 east of St Kilda Road.
I am not sure if it worth having a council of for the CBD only. It mainly contains international students and expats so has few voters even through its population is rapidly growing.
@Nimalan. It’s my ideal either, but short of changing the voting system in that municipality, I honestly don’t know what the best solution would be. As it currently stands people in those areas are not fairly represented.
City of Melbourne just needs to change to a ward structure and have the same system as the other councils (nobody should get more than 1 vote, ESPECIALLY a non-resident).
City of Melbourne is not what it was 30-40 years ago. Its residential population has almost quadrupled. It’s no longer predominantly a place just for visitors, and residents shouldn’t get any less priority than a business.
Actually, a council consisting just of the CBD makes perfect sense. The MCC (and SCC etc) is there not for residents but for the greater metro area, e.g. CBD, MCG, Docklands stadium, Jeff’s Shed etc, Crown etc. There are many cases where the wants of residents clash with the wants/needs of city visitors, and in the case of CBDs only (maybe some remote mining towns as well) the needs of the visitors are at least if not more important than the needs of residents.
Labor Voter, you have a good point that the CBD’s of each state capital city function more than just a local place of interest. In fact, they could be administered in a similar manner to the National Capital Authority which enables the federal government to have a role in the planning of buildings/infrastructure for the Canberra CBD and Parliamentary Triangle.
@Trent. It’s definitely true that the CBD is more than just a business hub. There are many residents there now, and waiting on tables is the most common job for said residents according to the Census. So their needs are very different to the wants of the fat cats. In fact all the buildings (in the north west corner of the City) that I see from my east facing living room and kitchen windows are apartment towers. The only one that isn’t is the police department building, and the Rialto which appears behind these buildings. All the office towers that are primarily up the eastern end of the city are blocked by the walk up flats that line my street. The voting system needs to change as these residents get overrun by business interests.
I do think that the municipalities that we have now are far from perfect. Yarra resembles Imperial Germany with North Carlton being the Ruhr, North Fitzroy (north of Holden Street) being Schleswig Holstein, Alphington being Prussia, and Richmond is akin to Bavaria. All of Alphington needs to be in Darebin. North Fitzroy (north of Holden Street and west of St Georges Road) needs to be in Merri Bek with the part of North Fitzroy that’s already in that municipality. North Carlton/ Princes Hill should be in the same municipality as Carlton and Princes Park. This could either be a democratized Melbourne or a new Inner City council. Kensington and Flemington should all be in one municipality. Kensington would be better off in Moonee Valley as it’s a Western suburb. I don’t like cross regional municipalities like Melbourne and Yarra. Having Miller Street North Fitzroy in the same municipality as Richmond is ridiculous, just like Altona Street Kensington being in the same municipality as Melbourne Grammar, and Wesley College is nonsense.
There is even a case for Kensington and Flemington joining Maribyrnong. Flemington and Kensington face the same issues as other western suburbs (read: trucks, pollution, public housing shortages, rental stress, proximity to toxic waste, and flooding). I remember the floods two years ago and you could not cross from Footscray into Flemington and Kensington. The bottom of Ballarat Road was under water, as was Hopkins Street. I had to take my bike on the train and when we crossed the Maribyrnong you could see homes and businesses in Kensington under water and cars floating down the streets. The Flemington racecourse flood wall is a Western suburbs issue. The corporatized City of Melbourne is not fighting for its northwestern residents. The people of 3031 united with the 3011, 3012, and 3032 residents to oppose the flood wall. There were people from 3039, 3040, and even 3055, and 3056 involved (the latter two being made up primarily of the left).
People of 3031 utilize Footscray Park, and when Melbourne Victory wanted to steal the park from the residents, it was not just Footscray residents that were up in arms. Flemington and Kensington residents joined the actions, as did those from Ascot Vale.