CANDIDATES’ POLL PLEA
COUNCIL ELECTION: Early voters show up despite virus fears
TWO Cairns Regional Council hopefuls, including a mayoral candidate with a PhD in public health and social policy, are calling for drastic measures to stop the potential spread of coronavirus during the upcoming election.
The plea follows reports of voters panicking about people standing too close at pre-polling stations.
A MAYORAL candidate with a PhD in public health and social policy has called for local government elections to be postponed until after the immediate threat of coronavirus has passed.
Georgia Babatsikos has 25 years experience in the health sector, having worked for two state health departments in the US where she managed HIV prevention programs.
The independent Cairns Regional Council mayoral candidate believed drastic action was needed now to avert a health and economic crisis.
At the very least, Ms Babatsikos said the Electoral Commission of Queensland (ECQ) should ramp up remote voting – either by extending the postal ballot period, which closed at 7pm on Monday, or phone voting.
“Social services are going to be hit by a tonne of bricks because people are going to lose their homes over this,” she said. “If they declare it on Thursday and everyone goes into lockdown for three weeks, we can nip it in the bud.
“That’s prevention.”
A major extension of postal voting is not an impossibility although the ECQ has made no indication such a measure would be introduced.
Across Queensland there are 16 councils using only postal voting for their elections, including Etheridge Shire and Longreach Regional Council.
Division 5 Cairns Regional Councillor Richie Bates urged the ECQ to extend the deadline for postal voting.
“The Federal Government has called for a ban on events of 500 people or more and health authorities are asking people to keep 1.5m apart from each other to avoid catching the virus,” he wrote in a statement.
“Local residents, especially elderly voters, are rightfully concerned about the coronavirus and would prefer not to put themselves at risk at pre-polling or voting on election day.”
Mayor Bob Manning counselled residents to follow the official government advice rather than listening to “socalled experts” who thought they knew better.
“We have to stay united, to stay together,” he said.
“Whatever the government decides, they’re deciding it for a reason and we need to fall in behind them and back them.
“We shouldn’t be trying to come over the top of them.”
Cr Manning said he had a conference call with the state’s mayors a few days ago and all but one wanted the elections to go on as planned.
Candidates and booth workers have told the Cairns Post pre-polling numbers have been higher this year and have steadily increased over the first two days of operation.
Division 1 candidate Sue Bertuch said she had witnessed alarming scenes at the Piccones’ Edmonton pre-polling station yesterday.
“Down at pre-poll, people were absolutely panicking that others were standing too close to them. It’s scary for everyone,” she said. Concerns in the queue for early voting in Cairns as mayoral ch up to August, warns Trump