STRETCH ‘WRONG’ ON PUSH FOR SINGLE COUNCILLORS

STRETCH Kontelj wrote an opinion piece last week (GA, 31/7) urging the City of Greater Geelong’s return to single-councillor wards, an arrangement advocated by the nowdisgraced former Local Government Minister, Adem Somyurek.

My own Bellarine Ward fortunately still has three councillors, including the current mayor. Voters have a choice of three to lobby.

All except one of Geelong’s multicouncillor wards has one or more male and female councillors, but that is obviously impossible in any singlecouncillor wards.

Dr Kontelj’s comments on Kennett’s unsatisfactory 1998 “reform”, with two categories of councillor, make sense. The succeeding Bracks government discontinued that “reform”. The Cain government had earlier substituted triennial elections for Victoria’s more than century-old annual winner-take-all elections, where the only options were annual elections of one councillor for each threecouncillor ward, or of three councillors for the few undivided municipalities.

Until Kennett’s restructuring, virtually the only Australian councils with single-councillor wards were in Queensland. Because the Coalitioncontrolled Legislative Council was vetoing proportional representation, the Bracks government chose 12 single-councillor wards for Greater Geelong.

Turmoil led to the Andrews government appointing a Commission of Inquiry that made a strong recommendation for a return to multicouncillor wards elected by proportional representation, which the Andrews government accepted. That applied at the elections in 2017.

Single-councillor wards harmed Geelong, causing its council’s dismissal, which Dr Kontelj did not mention. With single-councillor wards, Geelong will revert to the bad days of bullying, financial mismanagement, and dummy candidates.

The Commission of Inquiry Report was sensible. Dr Kontelj is wrong to dismiss it.

Lyle Allan, Barwon Heads