Clarence Alderman Tony Mulder moves against compulsory council voting

A city councillor has made a move against forcing people to vote in local government elections, arguing it is a denial of liberty and freedom. LATEST>>>

New laws which make voting in council elections compulsory has been criticised by a Clarence Alderman, who says it’s a denial of freedom.

Tony Mulder will move a motion at Tuesday’s meeting for the council to officially not support the move after the law was passed earlier this month.

“First of all is the issue of liberty, the freedom,” Mr Mulder said.

“It’s not a right to vote if you don’t have a right not to vote.”

Mr Mulder did not believe voting in council elections carried the same weight as voting in state or federal elections.

“Although you could make a case for compulsory voting for a government that makes laws, council isn’t a government at all, we don’t make laws and we don’t run a judiciary,” he said.

“We’re simply a local infrastructure advisory committee elected by the people.”

Tony Mulder objects to compulsory voting. Picture: Mathew Farrell

Mr Mulder said he feared the move would result in less independent representation and more party politics.

“On the mainland we have compulsory voting and there we have party tickets and there’s talk there about which party controls councils, that’s hardly right,” he said.

“We’re turning councils into party political forum.”

Mr Mulder admitted he didn’t believe his motion would change much.

“It’s far too late, it’s into law now,” he said.

“But since the parliament weren’t prepared to debate the important principles, maybe it’s down to the council.”

In response to Mr Mulder’s motion, Clarence Council general manager Ian Nelson noted costs for council would likely increase.

“After the council elections in 2018, council was charged approximately $290,000 for the conduct of the election by the Tasmanian Electoral Commission,” Mr Nelson said.

“That amount can be expected to increase by approximately 25-35 per cent due to compulsory voting.

“We are not aware of any steps proposed by the Tasmanian Government to assist councils to meet this additional cost for the 2022 council elections.”

Earlier this month, local government minister Nic Street said local government decisions were as important as state and federal.

“By making voting compulsory, we will lift community’s perception of local government and its importance by bringing local council elections into line with state and federal elections,” Mr Street said on June 2nd.

“We also want to lift the community’s engagement with the local government sector, and I am confident the passing of this legislation will do that.”

Compulsory council voting gets green light

Voting at local government elections will be compulsory in Tasmania, after a bill to amend the local government act passed its third reading in the Legislative Council.

The bill was tabled in parliament on May 24 and was rushed through parliament so the change would be in place ahead of the council elections in September and October.

Leading the charge was local government minister and former Kingborough councillor Nic Street, who said making voting compulsory would show Tasmanians the importance of councils.

“These decisions are just as important as those made at state and federal government level and in many cases they impact the day-to-day lives of Tasmanian residents a lot more,” Mr Street said.

“By making voting compulsory, we will lift community’s perception of local government and its importance by bringing local council elections into line with State and Federal elections.”

Mr Street said the move would increase the number of Tasmanians who vote.

“We also want to lift the community’s engagement with the local government sector, and I am confident the passing of this legislation will do that,” he said.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said it was a positive step forward for democracy.

“We’re now in line with most of the big states where voting at your local council is compulsory,” Ms Reynolds said.

Opening of Taste of Summer, Lord Mayor of Hobart Anna Reynolds at PW1, Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

“People are very interested in local government issues and they’ve often got strong opinions about how to make their communities better.

“But there’s been a disconnect with people not actually voting for councils.”

Ms Reynolds said the fact postal votes were the only option to cast a vote in a council election contributed to lower participation.

Ms Reynolds said it was especially important to encourage young people to have their say.

In 2014 around thirty per cent of voters aged 18-34 voted while the percentage for the 65 and over cohort was 70 per cent.

“Young people are the ones who will inherit the city,” Ms Reynolds said.

“Young people have got great ideas about how to make the city ready for the future and anything that encourages stronger participation is really positive.”

Compulsory council voting nearly through

A bill to amend the local government act to introduce compulsory voting at council elections has passed its second reading in the Legislative Council, with no amendments made in the committee stage.

As debate in the Upper House got underway on Wednesday, concerns were aired about the rushed nature of the push.

“It’s not the way I believe we should have done this but here we are,” member for McIntyre Tania Rattray said.

Ms Rattray said some mayors in council municipalities in her electorate were unhappy with the lack of consultation.

Member for Murchison Ruth Forrest said there was still work to do to help voters understand the democratic process.

“It is the right thing to do in terms of ensuring voice are heard,” Ms Forrest said.

“The more we can engage people at every level of government the better.”

The third reading of the bill in the Upper House will take place on Thursday.

“Rushed”: Timing crucial for compulsory council voting

A bill to introduce compulsory voting in council elections has received overwhelming support in parliament, passing its second and third reading in Tasmania’s Lower House on Tuesday.

The bill, introduced by local government minister Nic Street, seeks amend the local government act to introduce compulsory voting and simplified preferential voting.

Mr Street said it was important to make the changes before the upcoming local government elections in late September/early October.

“Can I make the admission from the outset that the timing of this isn’t ideal, nor is the rushed consultation period?” Mr Street said.

“This wasn’t me cherry picking the low hanging fruit of local government reform.

“As my first bill through parliament in Tasmania, this isn’t how I wanted it to be.”

Mr Street spent more than four years as a Kingborough councillor and it needed to be taken as seriously as other tiers of government.

“I think whether it was intended or not, there’s a subliminal message to the community that it’s more important to vote in state and federal government elections than local government,” Mr Street said.

Independent MP Kristie Johnston, a former Glenorchy mayor, said it was a small but important amendment.

“We know the voter profile is not reflective of the community profile,” Ms Johnston said.

“We know there is significant under representation of young people or people from migrant communities.”

Ms Johnston commended the move to introduce simplified voting and said ballots were complex.

She said more education around voting was also needed.

“It’s always concerned me when people have expressed surprise they could vote if they were renting a property,” Ms Johnston said.

Labor MP Ella Haddad said the amendment was rushed but it was welcome.

She said Labor would move amendments when the second tranche of local government reforms went before parliament, including how gifts and donations to are handled in local government.

“There isn’t a lot of transparency around donations and gifts,” Ms Haddad said.

“Many in the locational government sector would welcome reform to donation disclosure.”

Mr Street said the second Tranche of reforms would be discussed in the second half of 2023, with a report on the local government review expected in June next year.

“At the next tranche of reforms won’t be rushed into here, nor will they be rushed through here,” Mr Street said.

“We will bring forward a tranche of reforms widely consulted to make sure we get local government where we want it to be.”

The bill passed its second and third reading in the Lower House, but will need to be supported by members of the Upper House before it comes into effect.

‘Strange anomaly’: Compulsory voting to raise participation

The voting process for local government elections could be simplified as the state government begins its push to make voting compulsory when it comes to electing councillors.

Local government minister Nic Street tabled the local government amendment (elections) bill on Tuesday, also revealing plans to introduce simplified preferential voting, or 1-5 voting.

Mr Street said he wanted to elevate the tier of local government to the level it deserved.

“It is a strange anomaly that we don’t require people to vote at local government elections, while it is compulsory and enforceable at Tasmania’s State and Federal elections,” Mr Street said.

“As a former elected member of Kingborough Council, I understand the importance and value of the decisions made by local councils, which are just as important as those made at State and Federal Government level.”

Mr Street said under the current rules, voter participation was not high enough.

“At the last local government elections in Tasmania, the voter participation rate was only 58 per cent and we need to improve the community’s engagement with the local government sector.”

Greens local government spokesperson Rosalie Woodruff said there’d been previous attempts to make council voting compulsory.

“The Greens have previously attempted to change the Local Government Act to make voting compulsory in 2013, but this was voted down at the time by the Liberals in the Lower House,” Ms Woodruff said.

Ms Woodruff said she’d also like to see reforms requiring voters to be Australian citizens along with the introduction of caretaker provisions for local government elections.

The proposed amendment has been welcomed by industry leaders, who said it was the first step to more effective councils.

“We have long held the belief that local government in Tasmania is structurally and financially inefficient, lacks accountability, operates outside the real economy and imposes avoidable financial imposts and regulatory burdens on the Tasmanian community,” Property Council of Tasmania executive director Rebecca Ellston said.

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Michael Bailey said it would ensure the council represented more than those “politically engaged”.

“Compulsory voting at federal and state levels assures our elected politicians are representative of the entire electorate,” Mr Bailey said.

“There’s no reason this same assurance and importance shouldn’t be given to local government, which plays a critical role in the lives of all Tasmanian individuals and businesses.”

Push for compulsory voting in Tasmania council elections

Voting in this years council elections could soon be compulsory as the state government prepares to introduce a bill on Tuesday, but one group says the move could come with risks.

Late on Monday afternoon, local government minister Nic Street announced his intentions to introduce the bill to parliament.

Kingborough mayor Paula Wriedt was one of three mayor elected after by-elections held in July last year.

In her municipality, there were 28,176 electors enrolled, but only 14,297 declarations were returned – just over 50 per cent.

In Glenorchy, it was a similar story; the municipality had 33,366 electors enrolled but only 16,509 (49.48 per cent) returned their ballots.

In the much smaller municipality of the Derwent Valley, which had 8,159 enrolled electors, only 3804 ballots were returned in its by-election in February this year.

Ms Wriedt personally believed making council voting compulsory was a good thing.

“Local government is such an important sector for the community, yet because it’s not compulsory, people aren’t voting,” Ms Wriedt said.

“You end up with councillors and leadership teams that are elected by a small number of the community.”

Ms Wriedt said it might make the community take local government more seriously.

“I always hope people give strong consideration to who they give their vote to, I wouldn’t like to think people take it less seriously in local government,” Ms Wriedt said.

“I do hope by making it compulsory it does send a message to the community that council and local government are a legitimate and valued part of the democratic process.

“Hopefully it means people do take it a little more seriously.”

Local Government Association of Tasmania president Christina Holmdahl said the move was welcomed but that the government should have consulted with the sector.

“We have not recently considered the issue of compulsory voting in local government elections, and while the proposal may increase participation in local democracy; this change comes with some risks,” Ms Holmdahl said.

“Importantly councils have not had sufficient time to consider the implications of such significant change.”

Ms Holmdahl said she’d also like to see ballot papers simplified, so voters would only be required to vote 1-5.

“This is something local government has been advocating for and will go a long way to reducing the number of informal votes,” Ms Holmdahl said.

“We look forward to working with the government to encourage people from diverse backgrounds, genders, abilities and ages to represent their community in the upcoming local government elections.”

Elections for Tasmania’s 29 councils are due to be held in October.

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Originally published as Clarence Alderman Tony Mulder moves against compulsory council voting