paul was a candidate in the 2009 local government elections
The following is a transcript of the speech I delivered at the Launceston Ratepayers Association, Candidates Forum, on 12 October 2009.
I would like to acknowledge the original and ongoing custodians of the land upon which we meet, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, and pay my respects to their elders past and present.
I’m 35. I live with my partner and six year old little boy in our home in Mowbray, and I’d like to note that I’m the only candidate from that side of town.
I’m a teacher by training and a ‘social change worker’ by choice. For over a decade I have worked with the most disadvantaged members of our community. I’ve worked with hundreds of individuals and families in this city living in poverty, particularly those experiencing unemployment, homelessness, drug addiction, mental ill health and extreme financial distress.
In the time remaining I’d like to tell you about “Jeanie”.
I met Jeanie last week while door knocking. She’s in her late 70’s, she’s five feet tall and has a crook shoulder.
Jeanie lives alone in the front flat of a converted house only a couple of minutes away from shops and buses.
Jeanie invited me in to her one bedroom flat to show me what she gets for $170 a fortnight. Jeanie showed me mould and mildew on every wall.
Jeanie explained that she doesn’t sleep in the bedroom anymore because it is too cold and damp. Instead she pulls two lounge chairs together and sleeps across them in front of a small plug in bar heater.
Jeanie has asked her landlord to fix the property, but he explained that he intends to pull the house down and extend his business in the near future.
I believe all levels of government have a responsibility to Jeanie.
I’m standing in this election to give voice to Jeanie and the thousands of other members of our community that are suffering just like her.
Local government can make a difference.
I’m standing to have issues of social justice, fairness and inclusion debated with urgency and acted upon.
I’m standing up for Jeanie and those in our community who are doing in tough.
The final social and political injustice for Jeanie is that she gets one vote in this election, and her landlord may be entitled to two votes because of his corporate interests. Where is the justice in that?
I’m also passionate about sustainability and I trust I will be able to outline my views over the course of the evening.
Thanks for the opportunity to speak, and I’d like to wish all the candidates the best of luck.
In Tasmania in 2009, local government elections where held every two years, with half the seats on each council vacated each election. In the City of Launceston, 6 seats were up for election. There was a record 19 candidates stand for election that year. Voting was not compulsory, and the ballot was conducted via postal-vote from 13-27 October. Launceston had 45,846 electors enrolled, and 24,608 voted – a participation rate of 53.68% (there were 486 invalid votes).
I posted the limit of 50 signs around Launceston, advertising my candidacy. I produced a detailed brochure that I hand delivered to 2000 homes. And, I tried to introduce the term “interdependent” in my campaign material. I was seeking to promote the notion of collaboration and cooperation in governance. Interestingly, people offered feedback on this word assuming I had misspelled the word “independent”. The local newspaper did not print any of my ‘letters to the editor” nor reference any of my media releases.
I polled 581 first preference votes, and at the time of my elimination from the count had 947 votes (quota being 3,345). In summary, I fell a long way short of being elected. At the time of writing this post (May 2022), almost 13 years after meeting Jeanie, she is gone, but her mouldy flat remains unchanged.
