VOTING MUST BE A CHOICE

DEMOCRACY is the cornerstone of our society. Free and fair elections are a hard-won right and privilege.

But in times of great adversity, it is sensible to think hard about whether the process should proceed.

This is not to deny Gold Coasters their right to elect councillors who will make the decisions for the city over the next local government term, nor to deny the people of the Currumbin electorate their voice in state parliament by electing a new MP at the by-election on Saturday.

An election could be put on hold for what would be hoped is a short period while the threats to health and the economy posed by the coronavirus remain, and our city remains in caretaker mode. Gold Coasters know they have city officers of high standard.

What is of concern is the council elections could become our Sydney cruise ship equivalent. The decision to allow passengers – several now known to have been ill with the virus – to leave the ship in Sydney and move out into the Australian community is now shown to have been poor judgment. Indeed, it is a debacle.

The question for Gold Coasters is whether a council election trumps everything else. Governments have moved to shut borders and non-essential industries, businesses and gatherings.

Grieving relatives have to sort out who makes up the 10 permitted to attend a funeral. Wedding day numbers are limited to five. Bars and clubs are shut. Playgrounds and barbecues have become no-go areas. Aussies can’t even watch their favourite games, with sports codes shutting down and the Olympics postponed for a year. Our marathon is under threat.

Public hospital elective surgery and dental services are on hold.

Yet the Queensland Government still wants the elections to go ahead. Voters are being threatened with $133 fines if they do not turn out to vote.

Of course, there are alternatives to going to the booths, but for many those opportunities have been closed – postal voting, for example – while “the vulnerable’’ confined to nursing homes or ordered to stay at home by their doctors, as well as travellers in self-isolation, are able to telephone vote.

But many others who comprise the ranks of the “vulnerable’’, the elderly who remain mobile, will be expected to front up on Saturday, prompting Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young to urge the Electoral Commission this week to allow them time on election day to file in to vote while fit and healthy voters are asked to delay visiting the booths. The messaging has been that large gatherings have the potential to be killers. So is it crazy to expect crowds to line up at the booths?

We need strong leaders. We must trust them to make the right decisions, based on expert advice. But we urge them to consider the advice of a range of medical experts. Queensland advice seems to be that the election will be fine provided people observe the distance rules, use hand sanitisers and not shake hands. But the nation’s deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, warns elections have the potential to spread the virus. The Government should at least waive the fines and allow the people to choose whether they will vote. It could avert a disaster.