City rules out voter ”appeals on wheels”

Hamish Heard
Geelong is immune from a union plot to infiltrate meals on wheels services throughout the country as platforms to pedal proLabor propaganda, according to City Hall.
Liberal Member for Corangamite Stewart McArthur called on Geelong’s council this week to guarantee that unionists would not intimidate the region’s elderly residents into voting Labor while delivering their meals.
Mr McArthur issued the challenge after Australian Council of Trade Unions president Sharan Burrow told a Melbourne radio station the union movement would infiltrate meals on wheels services in a bid to boost Labor’s prospects.
Mr McArthur immediately turned up the heat on Geelong’s council.
“The mayor and city officers should give a public guarantee the trade union movement will not be able to target elderly residents through meals on wheels or other services provided to elderly people,” Mr McArthur said.
Unions and party politics had no place in the provision of local government services, he said.
“The union movement will do anything to ensure ACTU assistant secretary Richard Marles is elected to parliament for Corio,” Mr McArthur said.
He called on council to outline steps it would take to stop ACTU campaigners exploiting Geelong’s meals on wheels service for political gain.
But City general manager for community and recreation Irene McGinnigle rejected Mr McArthur’s fears meals on wheels would become a union campaign tool.
“Council’s meals on wheels volunteers do a tremendous job,” she said.
“There is no political element in the valuable work that they do.”
Ms McGinnigle said the City had not recorded a surge in meals on wheels volunteers “for the purposes you mention”.