Onkaparinga mayoral aspirant forced by Electoral Commission to rewrite voter pitch — because it was too critical of the council

AN Onkaparinga mayoral candidate’s leadership pitch to voters has been censored by the Electoral Commission because it was too negative and critical of the council. Among the words that were banned — “fresh start” and “new leadership”.

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AN Onkaparinga mayoral candidate’s leadership pitch to voters has been censored by the Electoral Commission, because it was too negative and critical of the council.

Reynella mother-of-two Erin Thompson — a first-time Onkaparinga Council candidate — was forced to rewrite her profile four times after she was told by the Commission that it was too negative towards the council.

The Commission banned her use of words such as “better again”, “fresh start”, “new leadership” and “clean slate”.

Sentences such as “I have the vision, energy and experience to get (the council) back on track, delivering better outcomes for you” have been deemed too negative and critical of the council for use in an official candidate profile.

The Local Government Elections Act requires council candidates to submit a 150-word profile which is assessed the Electoral Commission and then sent to constituents in ballot paper packs ahead of elections.

Ms Thompson, 36, a communications officer with Unley Council, told The Advertiser she was “extremely shocked” that she was not allowed to be critical of a council in a candidate profile.

Erin Thompson wants to be the next mayor of Onkaparinga Council.

Emails from a Commission staffer to Ms Thompson outlined issues with the profile.

“The sticking point in your profile is your reference to council spending,” the staffer wrote.

“It is viewed that these words tend to have a nexus with a decision or action of council and a profile cannot comment on the decision or action of a council.”

He went on to tell Ms Thompson she needed to be more positive.

“There are still problems with it and a number of your sentences need rephrasing to be positive and more about what you can or propose to do,” he wrote.

“Your opening sentence is a positive statement and your next sentence starts with “But” which of itself introduces a negative statement and a criticism of council.

“The offending sentences are set out below and I have highlighted the trigger words:

► “But Council needs a fresh start and new leadership to re-engage the community and deliver better services and facilities.

► “I have the vision, energy and experience to get Onkaparinga back on track, delivering better outcomes for you.

► “I will give Onkaparinga a clean slate through transparency, zero-waste of ratepayers’ hard-earned cash, and active community engagement.”

Ms Thompson said the rules were far too strict.

“It’s hard to talk about what I hope to do without referencing the fact that they’ve lost a lot of trust from ratepayers and I want to rebuild that trust,” she said.

“I think freedom of speech is really important. As long as you’re not defaming anybody and it’s not illegal, you should be able to say what you want.”

Ms Thompson acknowledged she had more freedom to write what she wanted in her other campaign material but was disappointed at the missed opportunity in the candidate profiles.

“You can say what you want in your campaigning messages but unfortunately a lot of people won’t see those — they’ll only see what comes with their ballot papers,” she said.

Gary Hennessy, Robyn Holtham and Erin Thompson — three of the five mayoral candidates for Onkaparinga Council. Picture: AAP/ Keryn Stevens

Ms Thompson said she would be lodging a formal complaint with the Commissioner about the rules.

Member for Mawson Leon Bignell described the move as “outrageous” in State Parliament this week.

“This should disturb anyone who has any sense of fairness around the democracy that we live in and the right to freedom of speech,” he said.

“People should be free to say exactly what they like in those 150 words.”

An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said the organisation assessed Ms Thompson’s candidate profile against the regulations in the Local Government Elections Act, which in part prohibits candidate profiles from containing “comment on decisions or actions that have been made or taken by the council or on the decisions or actions of past or present members of the council”.

“The interpretation (of this regulation) is the word comment is taken to mean a criticism, value judgment or endorsement of a decision relating to a council or council members and/or commentary in terms of either negative criticism or positive endorsement,” she said.

“It does not include statements of fact that are of a neutral nature.”

The spokeswoman said the regulation, or equivalent, had been in place since 2000.

Candidate profiles will be distributed within voting packs from Monday.

Local Government Minister Stephan Knoll said the handling of candidate profiles was “ultimately a matter for the (Electoral Commission).”

“The State Government is keen to work with the local government sector on broader reforms and we will review these regulations in the wash up of the election,” he said.

Outgoing Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg at her Willunga Hill farm. Picture: Matt Turner.

ERIN THOMPSON’S ORIGINAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

Our City is a fantastic place, full of promise and potential. But Council needs a fresh start and new leadership to re-engage the community and deliver better services and facilities.

I have the vision, energy and experience to get Onkaparinga back on track and restore faith in Council spending.

I am a mother-of-two and Old Reynella resident with a decade of experience working as a communications professional, and a background in business, tourism and hospitality.

I will give Onkaparinga a clean slate through transparency, zero-waste of ratepayers’ hard-earned cash, and active community engagement.

I am committed to seeing my kids grow up in a thriving region. I will bring fresh vision and determination to make Onkaparinga a community you are proud of.

You know what is best for your community. I will listen and represent your views so that Council can start delivering better results.

ERIN THOMPSON’S FINAL AMENDED CANDIDATE PROFILE

I am not a current member of Council. I will bring fresh new leadership and ensure Council delivers ratepayers good value for money.

I have the vision, energy and experience to ensure Onkaparinga is on track to deliver the best possible outcomes for you.

I am a mother-of-two and Old Reynella resident with over a decade of experience working as a communications professional, and further experience in management, business, tourism and hospitality.

I will ensure you can trust your council, through transparency, zero-waste of ratepayers’ hard-earned cash, and active community engagement.

I am committed to seeing my kids grow up in a thriving region. I will bring fresh vision and determination to make Onkaparinga a community you are proud of.

You know what is best for your community. I will listen and represent your views so that Council can deliver better results for you.

Originally published as Onkaparinga mayoral aspirant forced by Electoral Commission to rewrite voter pitch — because it was too critical of the council