Mayor defends ‘lack of comment’

Paul Dunlop
CARDINIA Shire mayor Garry Runge has fended off suggestions his council gave short shrift to controversial plans to gag rival candidates.
Cr Runge defended the council’s handling of the issue after it was raised by Pakenham resident Rosemary Davies during question time at last week’s council’s meeting.
Ms Davies’ question at the Monday meeting was prompted by a press report that said Cardinia Shire councillors had steered clear of the debate, passing up their right to make an official comment on the State Government’s proposal to forbid candidates from criticising the council.
Ms Davies asked Cr Runge why none of the councillors had seen fit to comment on the proposed changes to local government electoral regulations.
Cr Runge said councillors had been briefed on the proposed changes, but the timeframe for responses did not allow them to deal with the issue at a formal council meeting.
Cr Runge said he, as mayor, had certainly discussed the issue with representatives of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA) and other shire leaders.
Ms Davies also questioned whether it was appropriate that shire chief executive Don Welsh – not an elected councillor – had made a public statement “telling prospective candidates what they should or should not do”.
Cr Runge said Mr Welsh had made it clear in his response to the newspaper that his opinion was personal and not the view of the council.
Mr Welsh was reported as saying it was a good idea to keep candidate statements positive.
The public consultation period for the proposed changes closed earlier this month.
Both the MAV and VLGA took a strong stand against the Government’s proposals, saying they would “unnecessarily and detrimentally impact on the operation of local government elections”.