Tuesday 23 June, 2020
Councils could end up being led by mayors who have been overwhelmingly rejected at the ballot box under Labor’s new electoral laws, the LNP has warned.
Shadow Minister for Local Government Ann Leahy said the Electoral Amendment Bill passed by the Palaszczuk Labor Government was an affront to democracy.
“I’m very concerned that if an elected Mayor resigns or vacates the job in their first 12 months, they will now be replaced by the candidate who finished second,” Ms Leahy said.
“This could mean someone who received over 70 per cent of residents’ votes being replaced by someone who may have received less than 20 per cent and who does not reflect the voting intentions of residents at all.
“This so-called electoral reform has rightly been slammed by council leaders as undemocratic.”
Under the previous legislation, mayoral vacancies were filled by by-elections.
Ms Leahy said the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s Bill had been rammed through Parliament, with MPs given insufficient time to consider 229 late amendments.
“This is another example of Labor using its numbers in Parliament to rig Queensland’s electoral system,” Ms Leahy said.
“Queenslanders simply cannot trust the Palaszczuk Labor Government.”
