Democracy

CoRBA Melbourne believes the current Council structure and electoral processes in the City of Melbourne are undemocratic and inadequate. Successive elections have created an increasingly unresponsive and over-worked Council and an electoral system that is generally acknowledged as known to be vulnerable to fraud.

CoRBA argues that the current Council structure and the electoral system do not serve the people of Melbourne or the State of Victoria well. CoRBA supports Melbourne City Council, TWICE ignored by the State Government, in calling for a review of this inequitable situation. Unlike ALL other municipalities, Melbourne is governed under an Act of Parliament that removes the right of the citizens of Melbourne to fair representation. There are no formal mechanisms for facilitating consultation, collaboration or information sharing, meaning Council is often ignored or sidelined by the State Government.

The current structure of the City of Melbourne Council is inadequate for the changing demographics of the city. Boundary changes (2008) incorporating the Docklands and parts of Kensington and North Melbourne have added 9000 new voters and have significantly increased the proportion of residents within the municipality.

The Victorian Electoral Commission, which is contracted by Council to manage elections acknowledges that the current system does not allow for verification of voting entitlements. While elections rely exclusively on postal voting, the validity of all signatures cannot be guaranteed, exposing elections to fraud. CoRBA argues that the system must be reformed to reduce this vulnerability. (See link to main paper)

In this election year, CoRBA’s primary focus is for electoral reform so that ratepayers, businesses and residents rights are restored.  A system of checks and balances and community accountability needs to be restored in Melbourne. Only an independent objective review of Council governance and electoral processes can deliver this to us.

State Government intervention in the Council marginalises the people of Melbourne in:

  1. The autonomy of Melbourne’s elected representatives

  2. Compromising the electoral system

  3. Development and planning

  4. Transport planning and management

  5. Infrastructure investment

CoRBA MELBOURNE demands:

  1. An immediate independent review of the structure of the City of Melbourne

  2. An immediate review of voting rules that marginalise residents and businesses in the City of Melbourne

  3. A return of control over planning matters to the citizens of Melbourne

  4. Democratic, equitable representation and good governance for Melbourne

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