DANDENONG
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Tuesday, 26 May, 2020
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Election switch By Cam Lucadou-Wells
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Good or bad for democracy? The shift to single-member wards and postal voting for Greater Dandenong Council’s election on 24 October has drawn a mixed response from sitting councillors. Greater Dandenong is one of seven Victorian councils which had up to now resisted the switch from attendance voting. It affirmed that position as recently as February. The State Government has also mandated Greater Dandenong’s shift from four multicouncillor wards to 11 single-member wards. The council has since proposed ‘backto-the-future’ names reflecting suburbs and streets for the new wards. The proposed names are Springvale North, Springvale Central, Springvale South, Keysborough, Keysborough South, Noble Park North, Yarraman, Noble Park, Dandenong North, Cleeland and Dandenong. Currently, the four wards are named after flora: Red Gum, Paperbark, Silverleaf and Lightwood. Mayor Jim Memeti said the new placebased names would be more identifiable for residents. Most incumbent councillors would naturally occupy new wards without going headto-head with each other, Cr Memeti said. They were councillors Sean O’Reilly
(Springvale North), Youhorn Chea (Springvale), Loi Truong (Springvale South), Matthew Kirwan (Keysborough South), Maria Sampey (Noble Park North), Zaynoun Melhem (Dandenong North), Angela Long (Cleeland) and himself in Dandenong, he said. However, the Noble Park-based Paperbark Ward councillors Peter Brown, Tim Dark and Sophie Tan faced a vexing choice given the ward has been split five ways. Crs Brown and Dark told the Journal they were undecided which ward they would nominate for. Cr Memeti said the single-member wards would enable voters to judge which councillors were doing a good job. “We’re able to be held accountable.” Opposed however are Cr Matthew Kirwan, of the Greens, and Cr Dark, of the Liberal Party, who sit among an ALP-dominated council. Cr Dark said single-member wards may impede independents and non-ALP candidates, and further entrench Labor’s dominance. Cr Kirwan said single-member wards were a “regressive step for democracy”. “They encourage parochial behaviour among councillors and don’t deliver the same diversity of views and councillors as multicouncillor wards. “Multi-member wards encouraged collegiality and a focus on improving the whole council.” Continued page 6
Clean bill of health Lucas Gonzalaz and Martial David are among a taskforce of 50 cleaners helping to ‘wipe out’ the Covid-19 virus in public areas in Greater Dandenong over the next month. The cleaners had been recruited under the Working For Victoria program. More on the story inside on page 6. Picture: GARY SISSONS