CAMPAIGN 2020 Election hiccups causing concern
BUGS in the electronic disclosure system for the upcoming Cairns Regional Council contest have allowed new donations to be hidden in eightyear-old election records.
The Electoral Commission of Queensland’s online donations list for the 2020 election period made no mention of $5497.50 in union donations to Division 5 Cr Richie Bates.
An ECQ spokesman said Cr Bates had listed his candidacy as being in 2012 — the year he was first elected — and would have to update his data.
He said the oversight was “non-damaging” and would not affect Cr Bates’ candidacy.
Cr Bates in February received $497.50 from The Services Union and $5000 from the Rail, Tram and Bus Union.
The donations were listed for 2012 despite being made eight years after the poll and their reported date saying so.
Cr Bates said the ECQ had given confusing directions.
“The early advice said if you had never run before, then you were an ‘announced candidate’, but if you were first elected in 2012 then that’s the status you choose,” he said.
ECQ glitches have mounted after Mayor Bob Manning and Cairns NQSA’s Jen Sackley’s names were missing from an online candidate list last week.
Cr Bates said he had also received three pieces of conflicting advice on how-to-vote card requirements.
Ms Sackley said she had lost about a fortnight of potential time to hand out how-to-vote cards because ECQ staff were perplexed about what was and was not permitted.
She said she was counselled to collect signed affidavits for her Cairns NQSA Team’s cards and jump through all sorts of hoops, only to later learn the material did not need ECQ approval because it included only vote-one guidance, not preferential advice.
She did not believe the 40,000 how-to-vote cards she had ordered would be printed in time for the start of pre-poll voting on Monday.
“This has to stop,” she said.