Leeton residents will elect nine out of 10 candidates sitting at their election. Photo: Leeton Shire Council.
If you’ve always wanted to be councillor, you might consider moving to either Junee or Leeton.
Junee has nine councillors but only eight people nominated for the upcoming September council elections – meaning everyone who put their name down is guaranteed to become a local government decision-maker. A subsequent by-election is required to fill the ninth spot.
Leeton residents have slightly more choice. Ten people nominated for nine council spots, so only one candidate will miss out on election.
This is in stark contrast to neighbouring Wagga, where over 60 candidates are vying for just nine positions. Hilltops, Griffith and Temora also have many more nominations than elected positions.
So, will Junee and Leeton residents be disadvantaged by their lack of options? Not necessarily, according to Junee Mayor Bob Callow.
“I look at it as having confidence in the people we have there,” he said. “I like to look at the positives, not the negatives.
“I’m not too worried about it. It means we’ll have a by-election and I’m very confident we’ll have someone after that.
“I’ve had people say to me, ‘I thought there’d be plenty of people applying so I didn’t put my hand up’.”
Mayor Callow did, however, say that changes could be adopted to make it easier for people to run for council.
“A lot of people were caught out by the very short nomination period [nine days],” he said. ”I think the deadline was far too narrow. We saw what happened to the Liberal Party.
“People want to be able to find out information, approach council are ask what it’s like to be a councillor, then talk to their significant others.
”It takes a bit of time. Junee is spoilt for choice, we’ve got a lot of wonderful people out here, but they’re all working. It’s hard to find the time to stand for council and to find an employer that will give you time.”
Cr Callow does not believe the lack of council nominations is evidence of his shire being disengaged.
“Look at the way we rallied against the proposed Commonwealth Bank closure,” he said. ”It was magnificent. I haven’t seen so many people come out against something other than a change of school uniform.”
During the mass protests against the proposed Commonwealth Bank branch closure, Maisie Robinson showed off the passbook from the account she opened in Junee in 1943. Photo: Struan Timms Photography.
Former Leeton mayor Paul Maytom also doesn’t think the shire he used to run has major concerns.
“I would think 10 standing for nine positions is OK,” he said. ”If there was seven fighting for nine positions, I’d think there’s something wrong in the system.
”There may be a lot of reasons why people might want to stand for council but don’t have the time. It can be quite onerous for those with young families … I know it’s very hard to be a mayor and have to work a [separate] full-time job.”
Leeton council candidate Nicholas Wright was concerned about the lack of people standing for local government. It’s one of the reasons he decided to run and urged others to do the same.
“If you care about the place you live and you believe in democracy, you should put your hand up,” he said.
“We need 10 candidates to have a real election where votes really count. Who gets to have a say is determined by who turns up.”
Leeton resident Alison Egan, who led a community campaign against a substantial rate hike, was pragmatic about her lack of choice come election time.
“It’s not the greatest situation, but in Leeton, we don’t tend to get inundated with council candidate applications like, say, Wagga … I’m confident that all those running have the best intentions.”
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