We’ll soon know who’ll claim the seat of Kiama, following a whirlwind campaign. Photo: NSW Electoral Commission.
Voters in the Kiama electorate, take a bow – you’ve survived the byelection campaign and boy, was it intense!
For the past month you have been the centre of the universe for a swathe of politicians and pollie wannabes.
There’ve been pots of promises thrown around to sweeten the deal and attract your vote and you’ve had to make your selection from a baker’s dozen of candidates.
The Premier Chris Minns has really pulled out all the stops in his quest to return the electorate to the Labor fold and it’s been quite amusing to keep a tally of how many NSW ministers (10 at last count) have found their way to the electorate – or at least to the fringes.
There were lots of rumbles in the community about so few visits to the town for which the electorate is named, yet promises were made to locations on the fringe. Then there were those visits to town which upset people because they weren’t invited.
The Liberals are equally determined to reclaim the seat which was theirs before Gareth Ward was kicked out of the party and claimed it as an independent.
Unlike the government’s plethora of promises which come with money attached, the Libs can only promise to follow through if they are elected come the 2027 state election. (Don’t worry, the media have memories like elephants when it comes to stuff like that.)
It’s funny how politicians (or wannabes) appear out of the woodwork when the word election surfaces.
It’s no reflection on the good folk of the Kiama electorate at all, but I reckon they’ve probably never heard of at least half the candidates who threw their hat in the ring.
The closest connection some of these candidates have to the electorate is that they’ve driven through it on their way to somewhere else.
Less than half the field even live in the electorate. There’s a few from Sydney and of course there’s the “controversial councillor” from Nimmitabel (population 324), Andrew Thaler.
At the risk of giving him more publicity than he deserves, this is the man who thought it was funny to send our reporter a photo of former politician Andrew Constance when she requested Thaler send his details, policies and photo to include in our candidates story.
There’s no accounting for taste, but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one surprised that Thaler managed to find the 20 locals required to sign his candidate application.
Living in the electorate is not a pre-requisite to stand for election – maybe it should be to get rid of the jokesters who aren’t at all serious – but why would you bother wasting a vote on someone who doesn’t know or could possibly understand local issues?
Every one of the state’s 93 electorates has its own identity, issues and challenges. Anyone who’s serious about wanting to represent the seat of Kiama – which has more than 60,000 residents and covers bits of five local government areas – has to be dedicated to knowing the electorate and its political, community and business leaders.
The former state member Gareth Ward had his fair share of fans and enemies and certainly did himself and the electorate no favours in refusing to resign after being found guilty of sexual assault, showing no respect whatsoever for his constituents.
But whether you love or loathe the man, he was a local through and through.
At the end of the day, every voter wants to believe that the person they vote for is a person who they can trust to look after their interests and their community.
They want someone who will stand up for the little man when they feel they don’t have a voice, who will listen when they have a problem and genuinely attempt to fix it.
I’m not going to tell you who you should vote for – that’s your decision entirely.
But please, do your homework, make a considered decision and above all, make sure your vote counts.
For more information on how to vote or where to vote, visit the NSW Electoral Commission.
