General News
16 April, 2025
Token candidates in a safe seat?
Where are the wannabees who want to get your vote, asks Chris Earl THERE’S a federal election campaign happening somewhere in Australia but if you’re looking for wannaebees shaking hands and kissing babies on Loddon streets, looks like you’ll...
Where are the wannabees who wantto get your vote, asks Chris Earl
THERE’S a federal election campaign happening somewhere in Australia but if you’re looking for wannaebees shaking hands and kissing babies on Loddon streets, looks like you’ll be disappointed.
Deep in the south of the ultra-safe Mallee electorate, you might spot a few candidate signs (very few). In fact, chances are that on the border with the neighbouring seat of Bendigo even the casual eye will more likely spot the signs put up by the National candidate.
The seven contenders for Mallee, supposedly vying for your No 1 on the ballot paper are lucky to have stopped in Bridgewater for a famous vanilla slice since the election was called.
No funding commitments from any party have been forthcoming. Even the Loddon Herald inbox has been markedly barren when it comes to candidate media releases arriving after a swirl in cyberspace. Their social media accounts pretty much trotting out generic party pronouncements.
Current MP Anne Webster three years ago chaired a Federal Parliament committee that recommended government spend at least a quarter of the advertising budget with rural newspaper. The current government has for whatever reason ignored that report,, sending millions of dollars out of the country into the wallets of overseas social media corporates. Their lack of investment in local business, so far, is being matched by Mallee candidates.
Of course, the cynical could be forgiven if they think candidates are merely of the tokenistic variety in Mallee. Surely, not just because this is a safe National Party seat (on voting at the last election). It would not be asking too much of candidates to be up to speed on what our local communities, the shire council and other groups want to make life better in this part of the world.
Sure, there are the overarching issues like the economy that pervade every one of the 151 House of Representatives seats up for grabs on May 3. Yet the candidates are wanting you, the voter, to entrust them with being a local champion taking issues, concerns, hopes and dreams to the national capital where they knock on doors, badger and convince decision makers that our local projects are worth backing.
So it is sad to see, with the official election campaign almost at the half-way point, an unhealthy lack of interest being displayed by the Mallee wannabees in the future of local communities let alone trying to engage with the people. Good representation is not driven from the top down. It comes from the bottom up. Like you, I’ll looking forward to candidates saying more than boo, soon.