HBCF Challenges Labor stooge strategy in Hobsons Bay
HBCF Challenges Labor stooge strategy in Hobsons Bay
HBCF took the fight against the local Labor branch's use of stooge candidates all the way to the Magistrates' Court in a three day hearing in August 2005. The following are articles from the local press about the case.
The Mail:
The Star:
The Times:
posted by Hobsons Bay Community First @ 5:27 pm
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hello Mary and Angela,
Thank you for your comments! Given that Vicnet has 'suspended' the HBCF website (apparently residents can't publicly criticise the council about rate rises and broken election promises) I set up this blog to give us another way to reach residents.
The case is not frivolous as some people would have you believe (Labor Party supporters of course!). Certainly the Magistrate found we had a case, which is why it wasn't thrown out of court during the Directions Hearings despite the futile attempts by the Labor Barrister acting for Ms Lindsay. What the Labor Party does not understand is that HBCF is completely non-partisan and we don't believe anyone should run dummy candidates in Council elections - whether that be the Labor or Liberal Parties. Dummy (or 'stooge') candidates work because they mislead voters into thinking they're genuine candidates when their real intentions are to direct preferences to someone else. We firmly believe residents have the right to know who they are voting for, and political party membership is one of the fundamental things voters need to know (and have a right to know).
Whatever the outcome of the legal challenge, HBCF put the best possible case forward. Given that we are only an unfunded local community group, we have done extremely well against the great resources and coordination of a major political party.
Kind regards,
Tony Briffa
Convenor, HBCF
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