Western Port
Features inside
Western Port’s
FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT
PAGES 26–29
No. 1
CLASSIFIEDS
PAGES 30–31
newspaper
WESTERN PORT SCOREBOARD
PAGES 32–35
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2 October – 8 October 2012
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Spring for democracy
Elections across whole peninsula
Back to the grind:
Alan Mott has decided to come out of retirement and re-enter the workforce at the age of 85. Read his story on Page 5. Picture: Yanni
By Mike Hast DEMOCRACY is alive on the Mornington Peninsula with 43 candidates vying for places in the shire’s six wards at this month’s election. It’s a far cry from the previous spring election in 2008 when six of 11 seats were uncontested, with five councillors returned unchallenged and one, this year’s mayor Cr Frank Martin, not even facing the voters. Cr Martin took over from the retiring David Jarman in Red Hill Ward and was not opposed. The 43-candidate list is vindication of the Victorian Electoral Commission’s decision to redraw the ward boundaries and create three multicouncillor wards from eight single-councillor wards on the more populous, Port Phillip side of the municipality. Of the 43 candidates, 33 are standing in the three new multicouncillor wards between Portsea and Mt Eliza (see map on Page 4). Nepean Ward between Portsea and Rye has eight candidates seeking the two seats. Seawinds Ward from Tootgarook to Safety Beach has 14 going for three seats. Briars Ward from Mt Martha and Mt Eliza has 11 people chasing three seats on the council. The three wards on the Western Port side stay as singlecouncillor areas. The VEC in January recommended the changes, which
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were accepted by the state government. They were designed to ensure “fair and equitable representation”, according to VEC boss Steve Tully. Mr Tully telegraphed the changes last October during a public hearing into the electoral structure of the shire. He had expressed concern over the uncontested seats in 2008, revealing the shire had six of 45 in Victoria, 13.3 per cent of all uncontested wards across the state’s 79 municipalities. During a vigorous lobbying campaign, the shire council, led by CEO Michael Kennedy with the full support of all 11 councillors, said the six uncontested seats were proof the single-councillor system was working. Many residents disagreed, saying dislodging sitting councillors was a difficult task and getting action from some councillors was sometimes a problem. Despite 2008 having only five contests, four new councillors joined the shire – Frank Martin replaced David Jarman at Red Hill, Lynn Bowden replaced the retiring Aldona Martin in Watson Ward (Somerville and Tyabb areas), Graham Pittock replaced the retiring Dave Gregan in the Dromana area, and Leigh Eustace replaced Reade Smith, who moved from Mt Eliza Ward where he had been since the 2000.
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