That is the view of Edward River Council general manager Phil Stone, who says at least two potential candidates were excluded from the election this year because of what he described as ‘‘minor administrative mistakes’’. And he said there could be more he is not aware of.
Mr Stone has also taken aim at the fact councils are solely responsible for the cost of promoting the election and how to vote details, on top of the $150,000 fee council has paid to the commission for running the election. He said it’s all because the NSWEC is pushing for centralisation, while former councillor Ashley Hall — who has confirmed he is one of the two candidates rejected — suggested it’s the result of cost cutting despite there being no reduction in fees paid by councils.
Both Mr Stone and Mr Hall identified the decision to not have a returning officer based in the Edward River Council region as one of the failings of the process. The ‘‘onerous’’ online nomination process was also problematic, they both said. ‘‘The process has been centralised, with no local returning officer — ours is based in Moama — and with little consultation with councils,’’ Mr Stone said. ‘‘There is a lot more reliance on call centres and the web, but the process is onerous. Particularly in this area, where the internet is not all that reliable. ‘‘Candidates experienced an incredibly slow and cumbersome process.
‘‘If we had a local returning officer, those candidates who had issues with their nominations could have gone straight down and spoken with someone.‘‘One potential candidate received a phone call saying they had just one minute to re-register, which was virtually impossible because of the slow internet. I suggested this candidate email their nomination, and it was rejected.
‘‘This was a sitting councillor, and it is a poor outcome for local government to lose that experience on the council. ‘‘One other candidate, a new candidate, was not even afforded a phone call, merely received a text message saying their nomination had been rejected — quite impersonal really. ‘‘These candidates being accepted would have changed the whole election process, and I intend to ask the Electoral Commission to explain. ‘‘All this because of minor administrative mistakes, which normally should not result in exclusion.’’
Mr Hall said he takes some responsibility for his nomination being rejected, admitting that he submitted on the final day of the nomination period. But he said it was the most problematic and time consuming nomination process he had ever endured in 20 years in local government, and that it must be fixed. ‘‘Initially my computer would not talk to the Electoral Commission’s system, so I had to use another computer,’’ he said.
‘‘When I was locked out on that one, I tried to phone and was stuck on hold for 30 minutes. ‘‘The process explained to me when I finally got someone was completely different to what I thought, but I finally got my nomination in, or so I thought. ‘‘The four parts of the application were cumbersome in their own right, and in the end it turns out I uploaded two of one document and missed another.
‘‘They rang me with one minute until deadline and asked me to send the missing document. When I explained it took me 25 minutes to get into the system in the first place they just hung up. ‘‘Every other election I have gone to I was able to take my application to a returning officer here in town, hand it in, they would look over it and I would fix any errors on the spot. ‘‘This process was purely a cost saving exercise, with fewer returning officers. ‘‘I don’t think it’s fair that we should have to drive to Moama to hand in our nominations.’’
Mr Hall said he made an appeal to the NSWEC to accept his nomination, but that too was rejected. ‘‘It is disappointing to have finished on that note, and to have only two sitting councillors seeking renominations, because I feel I still had a lot to offer. ‘‘I feel like I was poorly treated, because the only real response I got from the electoral commission was basically ‘there’s nothing I can do’. ‘‘We want people to stand for local government, but the New South Wales Electoral Commission is making it so hard.’’
Mr Hall has suggested similar issues may have been experienced in the Murray River Council area, where there were not enough candidates to go to an election. All seven candidates for the nine seats will be elected automatically, with a by-election likely needed to fill vacant seats in the Greater Murray and Wakool wards. Mr Stone said the issues with candidate acceptances has somewhat limited choice for the community. Instead of having 11 candidates for nine seats on Edward River, he said there could have been 13 or more.
‘‘Edward River Council will have a minimum of seven new councillors, but could very well end up with nine new councillors,’’ he said. ‘‘But if we have more new councillors than those with experience, it takes a lot longer for them to get their feet under the table and can slow the council process down.’’ Mr Stone is still getting together a list of issues to raise with the NSWEC, but said there are already a few standouts. "There needs to be more skills available online or via phone, and more capacity on the website,’’ he said.
‘‘I also believe we need a little more support to be able to advertise the elections more widely.‘‘This is my first New South Wales local government election, but always in my previous experience there was some marketing support. This year it appears to have all been left in the hands of councils. ‘‘The election is held at an already incredible cost, so we have limited ability to do anything further. ‘‘It has not been the best process in my experience. ‘‘According to the act it is up to councils to run the elections, but it is standard practice to outsource. Two councils in New South Wales have chosen to go with someone else, but the majority go with the electoral commission.’’
