In NSW, a state so mired in corruption that even the Independent Commission Against Corruption can’t keep up, the State Government has decided to back proposed new legislation that manipulates local democracy.
Last week NSW Premier Mike Baird announced he would support changes introduced by the Shooters Party that would give every business in the City of Sydney two votes at a local council election.
That’s right. You and I get one vote. A business gets two.
“The community is right to ask – just who is running NSW?”
The Shooters and the Liberal Party argue that business pays more rates than households, so they should get more votes.
This undermines a key principle of democracy - that no matter who you are or how much money you earn, your vote is just as valued as anyone else’s.
The rich should not have more votes that the poor. Those who pay more tax should not have a bigger say than those who pay less.
Business in the City of Sydney can already choose to vote in local council elections and it’s easier for them to vote here than anywhere else in NSW.
Our elections are run by the independent NSW Electoral Commission to ensure that they are fair, transparent and democratic.
The Shooters and the Liberal Government want to turn that practice on its head and put the General Manager of the City of Sydney, who reports to the Lord Mayor, in charge of the process. Essentially, this change puts politicians in charge of elections.
It has been said that not enough businesses participate in the City of Sydney elections. The Shooters argue compulsory voting works in Melbourne, so Sydney should follow suit. But at the last City of Melbourne election more than 40 per cent of eligible businesses did not vote.
I’m sure most businesses in Sydney won’t welcome the threat of new fines.
There are smarter and more effective ways to encourage businesses to vote. Independent MP Alex Greenwich has already put forward an alternative Bill that protects our democracy and makes life easier for business.
It would protect the principle of equal voting rights, and ensure the electoral process is independent.
His Bill strips away the bureaucracy of business voting, makes it easier for businesses to vote, leaves businesses with the choice of deciding for themselves and protects the integrity of all votes in the community – residents and businesses – by making all votes equal. It takes away the threat of new fines and is a sensible way forward.
In his speech to the NSW Parliament introducing his Bill, Robert Borsak MP confirmed this was a move driven by vested interests, right wing media and shock jocks.
Borsak said the NSW Government wouldn’t have supported his Bill without Sydney radio personality Alan Jones, who had been a “driving force for this change for a long time”. He also made a point of thanking Sydney tabloid the Daily Telegraph.
After those media members of the fourth estate were paid their dues, Mr Borsak then also remembered to thank the Premier for his support.
The community is right to ask – just who is running NSW?
Since 2009 campaign donations from property developers in NSW have been banned.
The tally of NSW MPS who have resigned from Parliament, left their party, or have been stood down while allegations of corruption are investigated has risen to nine.
In Newcastle, the second largest city in NSW, the property-developer come Mayor Jeff McCloy told the ICAC last week that so many politicians came to him to ask for donations he “felt like a walking ATM”.
It is shocking that the NSW Government is supporting changes that undermine a key principle of our democracy – one vote, one value – at a time when most people are questioning the integrity of NSW election processes and the influence of vested interests.
