Democracy Divided

Rockhampton Region has 12 candidates for 7 councillor positions, yet over a third of those eligible to vote can’t vote for any one of them. Is it a democracy when you can’t vote for a Councillor, voting being a cornerstone of democracy? Around 23,000 people can’t vote for a Councillor (but can for Mayor) in the forthcoming Rockhampton Regional Council elections, despite more nominations than positions. The remaining thirty odd thousand eligible, can only vote for one councillor, not on all 7. The reason is because Rockhampton Councillors believe a divided council is better than an undivided one. Better for who, the current Councillors or the residents! In Livingstone, Gladstone, Central Highlands you get to vote for a councillor, no matter where you live in the shire and not just for one Councillor either, you get to vote on the lot. There are pro’s and con’s of each council type; in favour of divided councils is that those in less populated parts of the Council won’t feel left out and are able to vote for a candidate more aligned with their area and issues. However, with the requirement that each division have roughly the same number of voters, does a Marmor resident really feel they have the same issues as those living in a high rise on Victoria Parade, yet they are in the same division. Plus, Councillors don’t even have to live in the division they represent. Imagine such a Councillor when being confronted by a neighbour over a council issue saying you need to contact their divisional Councillor, who may also live in another division. It is no fault of the lucky three that no one is running against them, in fact it may be testament to the job they are doing, but in hindsight was their decision (along with the other Councillors) to not investigate becoming an undivided Council in the best interests of democracy, let alone the region? Even the terms the Electoral Commission Queensland use to describe the different types of Councils, divided or undivided, suggests the potential for problems with big picture issues; is what is best for the region best for a division of it, and if not how does a divided Councillor vote? Legislation says, Councillors take decisions and act in the overall interest of the whole council community and area. Was de-amalgamation in the overall interest of the then whole council community? An independent arbitrator said no. In my opinion divided council proved true to its name contributing to the de-amalgamation of Livingstone from Rockhampton Region. Hopefully when we do get some new faces around the council table one thing changes: the end of a divided council. So that in four years time every Rockhampton Region resident can have a say on who sits at the table, not just at the head. I’ll end with this observation, should 15% of those eligible and able to vote (around 30000) for a Rockhampton Regional Councillor don’t vote, or don’t have their vote received in time, or is judged informal, we end up post March 28th with a table full of Councillors that less than 50% of voters had a say about that formally counted. 15% being the average division percentage shortfall of those voted to those eligible in the 2016 Rockhampton Councillor elections. Is this type of outcome democracy is supposed to deliver?