The new ward system for Greater Shepparton Council has now been put to the test. If we were being charitable, we could say that it passed — but only just.
As we have pointed out before, the nine-ward design was foisted upon us. Nobody asked for it and many argued against it: neighbouring Strathbogie moved to a single ward system to avoid its obvious dysfunction.
Our city was lumped in with a group of similar-sized municipalities on the supposed basis that the nine-ward system would provide a more diverse council that better represented the various ratepayer groups and interests around Greater Shepparton.
The more likely explanation for this curious move was a desire to avoid the party-political divisions causing havoc in metropolitan councils. We have had none of that — we have had a well-functioning council.
So, how did it go?
Well, in two of these nine wards, Cr Rod Schubert and current deputy mayor Sam Spinks were elected unopposed. That was their good luck, but in the other seven wards, a total of 26 candidates fought it out.
With nominations invisible to the public until the time they closed, there was no way of knowing what level of competition there might be in any of the nine possible wards unless candidates had announced their nominations ahead of the closing date. This resembled a lottery — and we call it a fail.
This lack of visibility also meant that in wards such as Goulburn River, Kialla and Pine Lodge, we had multiple candidates who would have made excellent councillors (of the kind we would likely have elected under the old single-ward system). The good governance of the city is now absent their energy and expertise — and we call that a fail too.
More to the point, at least three of those capable (but unsuccessful) candidates were women — and we have ended up with seven men and two women. As far as the diversity objective goes, then, that is also a fail.
The only reason we might concede a ‘pass’ is because we’ve ended up with a good blend of experience and new blood, albeit with diminished gender and ethnic diversity than in the preceding council. Hardly a convincing pass.
These unacceptable shortcomings demand that the ward system be revisited to arrive at a system more appropriate to the city’s needs. There is broad agreement among current and former councillors that if a multi-ward system is to stay, three wards rather than nine would offer much healthier and transparent competition and, with three positions available in each ward, ensure the best candidates could be elected.
One ward west of the river would deliver the representation that Mooroopna, Tatura, Toolamba and Murchison deserve; two wards east of the river would cover the mix of urban and rural, with the opportunity to represent both.
We congratulate the new councillors on their election — and urge them to pursue a review of the ward system with the state government at their first opportunity.