DECEMBER 20, 2016 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Election recount bid By Ewen McRae A candidate in the recent Brimbank council elections has appeared in court in a bid to force a recount. Wally Walia, a Taylors ward candidate, appeared at a municipal tribunal in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 9 to try to force the Victorian Electoral Commission to perform a full recount for the ward after he missed election by just 37 votes. Mr Walia received the second highest number of first-preference votes but following the distribution of preferences, he fell to fourth behind elected councillors Bruce Lancashire, Margaret Giudice and Georgina Papafotiou.
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People are there all day counting – their eyes get - Wally Walia tired
(Dennis Manktelow)
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Mr Walia said such a close result made a recount necessary to ensure the validity of the results. “There were 26,000 votes counted and only a few scrutineers, so mistakes are going to be made,” Mr Walia said. “People are there all day counting – their eyes get tired and mistakes can easily happen. “When I missed out by 37 votes I asked for a recount on the night, but I was told it wasn’t close enough. My only option to get a recount is to go through the courts.” Mr Walia said his recount bid had received verbal support from “seven or eight” of the 23 candidates in the ward. He presented the court with a petition for a recount with “200 or 300 signatures”. Councillors Giudice and Papafotiou said they were surprised when they heard about the court action, but remained confident in the outcome of the election and respected Mr Walia’s right to seek a recount. “I’m surprised he’s going ahead with it, but I understand he invested a lot of money on his campaign, so if I was in his shoes I may have done the same thing,” Cr Papafotiou said. Mr Walia said he was unsure when a result of his case would be known, but was hopeful of knowing before Christmas. He did not rule out a challenge to a higher court if he was unsuccessful. The VEC declined to comment while the matter was before the courts.
Hard work brings a golden opportunity Chelsea Smith has clocked up hundreds of hours in Sunshine hospital’s in-patient wards. The Lowther Hall graduate began volunteering at the hospital in year 9, and continued throughout high school as part of her Duke of Edinburgh award requirements. To be awarded the gold International Duke of Edinburgh award,16-to-24year-olds must learn a skill, play a sport, volunteer and experience a team adventure somewhere new. Ms Smith, 18, said each week she
would visit the ward chatting to patients. “There was this one lady I went to have a chat with, she wasn’t entirely sane, but we were playing with the soft toys together. “The lady in the bed next to her said to me ‘thank you so much, she hasn’t laughed in weeks’ … even the smallest things you do make a big difference,” Ms Smith said. It would seem the philosophies underpinning the award, such as connecting within community and making a real difference, have been imbued in the young Hillside resident’s outlook. She was one of 73 Victorians to receive the gold award from
the Governor General of Victoria, Linda Dessau, at a dinner earlier this month. The awards dinner recognises the work of students participating at the highest levels of the program, and is a celebration of three years’ hard work by each. The commitments of the award didn’t seem to hinder Ms Smith’s capacity to study, though. She found out last week she was among the top one per cent of VCE students in the state, scoring an ATAR of 99.45. Alexandra Laskie