If I had my way, I’d ban party politics from local government.
Few councils in Victoria are untouched by party affiliations being put ahead of the community.
Political alignment creates automatic divisions between councillors who may otherwise have similar views and passions.
In some cases, councillors vote a certain way, depending on what’s best for their party, even if it’s against the very reasons that made them run for council in the first place.
Then there are silly antics around mayoral votes, which make it difficult for independent councillors to collect enough support to land the top job.
Worse still, many people who may have wanted to run for council have no chance thanks to political party preference deals.
As we’ve seen in the City of Brimbank, administrators can end up being a better option.
