THIRTY-TWO candidates have put their hands up for the honour of representing residents’ interests on the City of Greater Bendigo council for the next four years.
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By 6pm today, about 70,000 votes will have been cast to whittle those hopefuls down to just nine councillors serving the Eppalock, Lockwood and Whipstick wards.
It will be an anxious week-long or more wait for both the candidates and the community while the Victorian Electoral Commission finishes counting the postal ballots.
Just as these elected representatives will carry an enormous burden of responsibility, so too do the voters who ultimately decide the council’s composition.
There is a saying often used in politics, which can easily be applied to local government, that communities get the councils they deserve.
But in Bendigo’s case over the past four years, that could not be further from the truth.
The council that served since 2012 fell well short of what such a prosperous, vibrant, ambitious and caring community deserves.
In the face of some fierce challenges, it became racked with in-fighting as some of these civic leaders sought to put personal crusades ahead of the common good.
The resultant turmoil not only overshadowed the councils’ achievements, of which there were actually quite a few, but left Bendigo’s reputation on the national stage diminished.
Each resident must decide for themselves what was the cause of the disquietude and vote accordingly.
While different people will have different interpretations, what is indisputable is that Bendigo simply cannot afford another four years of dysfunction at local government level.
Whoever the nine councillors ultimately sworn in are, they must demonstrate true leadership to put the interests of the community ahead of their own.
Obviously, during the course of a four-year term, there will be differences of opinion on certain issues among those elected to the council.
But there is a clear distinction between healthy, principled debate and deliberate grandstanding.
Bendigo has through this election the opportunity for a fresh start. Let’s see if we have taken it.
- Ross Tyson, deputy editor