KCP - Catholic Diocese of Broome

The recent Shire elections in the Kimberley gave rise to an extremely poor voter turn-out. According to some pundits the blame lies with the apathy of the public to such civic duties. In Broome only 14.5% of eligible electors exercised their right to vote on the day. In Derby the percentage was slightly higher at 19.44%. Equally there is reason for alarm regarding voter participation in the other two Shires that constitute the East Kimberley.
The third level of Government in Australia, that is Local Government, is often vastly underestimated in its importance in the lives of citizens. Gough Whitlam, in his hey-day, had the idea of abolishing the second level of Government, the State Governments, and elevating the Councils to a greater importance. His idea was to reduce tiers of authority while encouraging effective government at a grass roots level.
Development issues, town planning and town planning processes are rightly in the hands of Shires and municipalities although not exclusively. For many people this is the level of government “where things get done”. It is also the level of government where sometimes people “get done” and where “insider trading” is reportedly at its worst. For instance it has been know that essential resources are in the hands of knowing councillors long before they are needed by contracted authorities. Discovering who has a vested interest in a particular development item may be just as hard as finding out who has not. Secrecy at local government level is unfortunately one of its hallmarks and efforts to communicate with electors is not a well trodden path. In very many instances citizens find a mere proposal has become a reality with little opportunity given for community input. Citizens can be excused for thinking on occasions that they are victims of local government rather than being people who are properly served by it.
The question remains, how do you increase voter participation at the local level? One solution may be to make voting compulsory, as it is in State and Federal elections. While some people have a natural aversion to compulsory voting, its introduction may be a fruitful answer to what has been described as “voter apathy”. But is the absence of voters on Election Day a matter of mere “apathy”? This labelling of obvious absenteeism may really be another case of simply blaming the victims when the real cause of a lack of participation may be the unattractive traits of local government.
Studies around Australia have shown that Councillors who are motivated to serve the community without the benefit of personal gain all too often find themselves side-lined and isolated by a cartel of less altruistic councillors. There have been many instances where highly motivated and generously spirited councillors have found themselves participating in a system of government that is careless about community needs and obsessive about development and wealth.
It is becoming more obvious that there is a need to introduce a voting system which will ensure participation of all citizens embracing all those who have needs, even the powerless and marginalized.
The selection of good candidates for Council will be better assisted if sitting fees are replaced by a reasonable stipend to acknowledge the many hours of work Councillors are called to do in the name of good governance. The accountability of Councillors to the public will be better ensured by including local government elections in the compulsory regime of voter responsibility. To let the present system continue with its lack of public participation is a testimony to shameful apathy among legislators.