A question of ethics
On November 1, my wife and I received an envelope that, to all intents and purposes, appeared to be from the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). At least initial appearances made this appear so.
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The envelope contained a postal vote application, a reply-paid envelope addressed to the VEC, and a letter from member for Benambra Bill Tilley. The letter from Mr Tilley was nothing more than a solicitation for our vote. Confusing and misleading – not from the VEC but political canvassing.
Further examination of the envelope containing the material revealed that it stated: Important – Victorian Electoral Commission Postal Vote Application enclosed and if undelivered return to PO Box 2342, Melbourne 3001. The post office box 2342 is not the address of the VEC.
A check of the Victorian Electoral Act indicated it was an offence to provide in writing any misleading information. A call to the VEC revealed that if the letter from the member for Benambra was not “attached” to the postal vote application then no offence had been committed.
A further check of the VEC website identified a media release dated October 31 headlined ‘Political party postal vote applications are not from Commission’. It would seem that the practice is widespread.
There would appear no doubt that the VEC saw the need to issue the statement due to a perceived sham being perpetrated. While not illegal the practice creates confusion and is therefore misleading. Although, it would appear not in breach of the Electoral Act, ethically the practice is questionable regardless of the political party involved.
Ed Tyrie, Stanley
We need stronger voices
Some may criticise Bob Katter, but no one can deny that he puts his electorate and people before political ladder climbing. He has made a real difference to his electorate and given his constituents opportunities.
How amazing is it when the leader of such a small party from Queensland can secure funding for investment in not one but two irrigation schemes in Northern Queensland. Meanwhile, the federal government with our local member as one of its team is throwing $13 billion at destroying already well established, efficient and modern irrigation systems across Southern NSW and Northern Victoria.
Bob Katter continues to fight for his constituents instead of prioritising personal or political gain, which is rampant within the major parties. I wonder what it would take for governments to make genuine investment in our electorate?
At present we have a National party federal water minister who seems committed to destroying our region, and a state National party member who is not prepared to “stick his neck out” to protect us. Even our local Nationals’ Senate candidate refuses to oppose the recovery of additional water, despite its potential damage.
With state and federal elections on the horizon voters in the Murray Valley need to think very carefully about what makes a good representative. It seems neither our National or Liberal representatives are able to influence their city-based colleagues, who are more interested in environmental votes than our sustainability. If they do not show substantial change in coming months, we need to send a clear message of discontent through the ballot box.
