Margot Giblin
Are You a Member of a Political Party?
(Answers in no particular order)
Gary Winter: Yes I am. I joined the Liberal Party in 94 and was branch president of Kingston for about 6 years, before which I had been secretary
for a similar length of time.
Tim Smith: No, I don’t really belong to any political party.
Eva Ruzicka: No, I’m not a member of any political party. I think it’s up to individual candidates to declare if they are but it does make them more accountable to the public in relation to where their policies might lie.
Jeff Briscoe: In relation to Council I am totally independent.
Rod Force: No. I don’t. I recently sent a donation to the Family First Party because I’m supportive of families.
Elise Archer: I am a member of the Liberal party, which doesn’t mean I am going to always vote in a certain way. I think all candidates should declare their political affiliations.
Marti Zucco: I belong to no political party at all whatsoever and am not aligned with, nor supported by, any political group. Nor will I join a party because my view is that would compromise my ability to give a balanced view of what is best for the city. I believe that if candidates are in a political party they should say so but my admiration is for those who come on to Council with no political backing. The problem with the Greens is not that they are Greens but that once you’re endorsed you have to toe the party line. I have no problem with councilors being a member of a political party; the problem is only if you are endorsed.
Leo Foley: No.
Peter Donnelly: Only recently. I’ve always been independent and am very independent minded and I don’t think party politics should be in Council. The concentrated vote of the Greens bowled me out last time and it might again. I’ve recently joined the Liberal Party but it’s a low key thing. They said ‘Where have you been?’ and I don’t expect any help from them.
Ron Christie: No I’m not. You could call me a swinger.
Rob Valentine: No I don’t belong to a political party. I’m fiercely independent. I’ve supported independents in the past such as the Denison Greens in the late 80s, before they became a political party. I believe that belonging to a party puts up barriers to effective debate on Council. We are there for the people, not a party.
I value being independent. I feel that’s how I can best serve the people. In relation to other councilors I don’t think it matters whether they declare party membership because it’s how they vote on Council issues that matters.
Good ideas are worth supporting regardless of where they come from. What matters to me is whether those ideas are good for the whole community.
The really important thing in any election for local government is that people are voted in who will vote on issues, not personality. Personality politics is by far the most damaging aspect of local government life. It is destructive and it creates stress and tension for some people where there need not be stress and tension. Councilors should be able to go about their business without it.
Eric Hayes: I’m not now, never have been and never will be.
Greens Party candidates were asked whether all candidates should declare their political affiliations.
Elizabeth Perey: Absolutely. You should be upfront about your political leanings. To say that people are politically neutral is a nonsense. Whether they are actually a party member or not they still have political allegiances. I don’t think there’s such a thing as independent. Nobody is independent.
Helen Burnett: I think it’s important, especially at election time, so that the public can decide who to vote for based on that knowledge. Transparency matters. If everyone were open on this it would be better. With councils interstate it’s more obvious – there are Labor Councils, Liberal Councils. Why should local councils be different than any other level of government? Take the most commonly given example of an independent body here – the Legislative Council – well we know that the government has the numbers in the upper house so why not just say it.
Corey Peterson: I think it’s incredibly important. If you’re not a member of a party you should also state that and whether you’ve run for a political party at any time. Otherwise it would be easy to let your membership lapse and then truthfully say you didn’t belong to a party.
Bill Harvey: I do think it should be declared. If a person is running for a political office they need to say whether or not they belong to a political party.
Philip Cocker: I’m not so concerned about parties. I think the work that Kevin Bonham did in showing voting records is interesting. For instance while it places myself and Helen Burnett at the far left end of the spectrum it also shows that we don’t vote the same way as often as some other pairs of names.
Mike Shea: No luck contacting him. Google brings him up on Jeff Briscoe’s web-site as part of his 05 Make Hobart Happen Team.
Lyn Archer still hasn’t returned my call on the last question and wasn’t on the radar at the West Hobart Meet the Candidates event. I don’t consider him a serious contender for either the position of Deputy Lord Mayor or councilor and I didn’t attempt to get in touch with him on the question of party membership.
Another chance for candidates to meet their electors comes on Wednesday 17th October at 7.30pm upstairs at the Republic Bar in North Hobart. This meeting has been convened by the Council of Hobart Progress Associations.
