By Luke Voogt
The Victorian opposition will push the ‘Melbourne model’ for Geelong next week to stop the Government removing the city’s popularly-elected mayor.
Shadow local government minister David Davis said removing the mayoral vote did not “reflect the view of the Geelong community”.
Last Thursday the State Government’s City of Greater Geelong Amendment Bill, which would abolish the directly-elected mayor, passed the lower house.
But Mr Davis said he would move an amendment which would see the mayor and deputy mayor directly-elected on the same ticket.
The government-favoured return to councillors electing a mayor would bring back “ bad old council habits”, he said.
The Labor Government holds 14 of 40 seats in the Legislative Council. The Greens, which supported the abolition of the mayoral vote in the lower house, holds five seats.
Mr Davis would have to convince all five remaining crossbenchers to pass the amendment, with the office of Sex Party member Fiona Patten indicating she would support the Government’s bill instead.
The Government based its decision on a Geelong Citizens’ Jury’s narrow vote (79 to 84 per cent) to return the council-elected mayor.
But Mr Davis said the ‘jurors’ “were led by the nose”, after two close votes either way leading up to recommendation.
On 24 May South Barwon MP Andrew Katos told parliament that the jury had no chance to recommend a third option based on the Melbourne model.
But Local Government Minister Natalie Hutchins labelled the comments “Liberal lies”.
The Minister quoted the background material which showed the ‘jurors’ every option in Victoria, including the model.
“I gave them a blank slate to come up with ideas on how best to run Geelong,” she said.
One juror, Lara’s Mary Budd, said Local Government Victoria advised the Citizen’s Jury that “the Melbourne model was only available for Melbourne”.
“We weren’t given that choice because it’s not in law yet,” she said.
“Never set up an enquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be.”
Fellow juror Sarah Gofton said the jury could have recommended electing the mayor and deputy mayor on the same ticket.
But the recommendation for a councillor-chosen mayor made the deputy position redundant, she told the Indy last year.
