{"id":70151,"date":"2020-07-29T10:10:46","date_gmt":"2020-07-29T00:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=70151"},"modified":"2020-07-29T10:10:46","modified_gmt":"2020-07-29T00:10:46","slug":"alp-announces-citywide-ticket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\/","title":{"rendered":"ALP announces citywide ticket"},"content":{"rendered":"

Labor Party endorses candidates across the City ahead of October council vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n

SIX candidates are set to run on a Labor Party group ticket across all three City of Ballarat council wards in this year\u2019s municipal elections.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cr Des Hudson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The alliance includes three well known faces like sitting councillors Des Hudson and Daniel Moloney, and former Member for Buninyong, and Ballarat mayor, Geoff Howard.<\/p>\n

They are joined by three local politics newcomers including Australian Catholic University campus dean Bridget Aitchison, Frolic Festival organiser Jay Morrison and politics lecturer Kumuda Simpson.<\/p>\n

The Labor Party has endorsed two candidates in each ward. Cr Hudson and Ms Aitchison in the South, Ms Simpson and Mr Howard in Central, and Cr Moloney and Mr Morrison in North Ward.<\/p>\n

With Labor Party rules for local government elected officials saying that councillors should only caucus on leadership issues, like choosing the mayor, Cr Hudson said the group ticket was as much about being open and honest with voters as it was about trying to win majority control of council.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a change from the last five council election cycles that I\u2019ve been a part of,\u201d said the incumbent South Ward councillor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe aim is absolutely about openness and transparency and to give the voters of Ballarat a clear choice in saying who people stand for and to disclose any party affiliations. The six of us are being open and upfront from the very start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge is there for everyone who stands to be transparent with the voters, not only those who are paid up members but those who are also closely aligned with and receiving support in terms of assistance with their campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Cr Daniel Moloney.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While the party has endorsed six people across the City, current North Ward representative, Cr Moloney, said it was going to be a challenge for him to get re-elected, let alone see a further four more ALP aligned candidates land a seat at the council table and take majority control of council.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s going to be a big ask to get a big number of our candidates up in the first place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m genuinely worried about my own chances from the sense that I\u2019m not one of the high-profile, vocal councillors. I tend to work hard more behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat might just sound like a line, but I know I\u2019m going to have a battle of my life ahead of me because I suspect there\u2019ll be a big field running in North Ward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should the ticket result in five or more of the ALP candidates getting elected, Cr Moloney said that wouldn\u2019t mean the Party would, or could, exercise control over decision making.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Local Government Act<\/em> and councillor code of conduct supposedly forbid that from taking place.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you did somehow get a majority of people up, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re going to get a consistent approach to voting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Des and I have a pretty good record of not voting the same way, and we\u2019re not required to either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the new faces putting their hand up for a council run, Kumuda Simpson in Central Ward could be considered the most politically aware.<\/p>\n

A university lecturer in politics, she said that behind her decision to run was the advice she would often give to her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years I was teaching politics and I had students coming to me asking what they could do to make a difference and my advice was always start locally,\u201d she said. \u201cGet involved in your community in whatever way you could.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me it was working on a book on climate change and I just felt the same kind of despair that my students felt. I was chatting to my husband one night and he was like, \u2018that advice you give to your students all the time is to get involved\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Kumuda Simpson .<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The issues Ms Simpson sees as important to the city include municipal services and the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put my hand up so I can try and have an influence on things like ensuring our services are the best they can be for the people who need them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe if we pay attention to climate change and sustainability principals and build green space into our cities then that has a huge impact on people\u2019s health and wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In South Ward Cr Hudson is being joined on the hustings by ACU campus dean Bridget Aitchison.<\/p>\n

Like Cr Hudson, she took aim at the idea of independent councillors not actually being truly independent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had some issues with council in that a couple of the independents have voted pretty much down the line of the Liberal agenda,\u201d she said. \u201cMy personal view is that it\u2019s local council, party is not really supposed to come into it, but the reality is it always does, in every council, you can\u2019t avoid it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When it comes to her campaign, Ms Aitchison said there were some key issues that she\u2019d like to look at including growth, sustainability and recreational faculties in South Ward.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat south-west development, we need to ensure the infrastructure stays ahead of the growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnvironmental sustainability is another really important issue. The work that we\u2019ve done over the last year-and-a-half really says that environmental sustainability is a key component of liveability.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn South Ward there are pockets where the facilities don\u2019t quite come up to needs. Sporting and recreation facilities. There needs to be improvements made there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Across town in North Ward, employment and the city\u2019s economy are a focus for Jay Morrison.<\/p>\n

His decision to run for council comes off the back of community involvement in efforts like the Committee for Ballarat North, Food Is Free, the city\u2019s Frolic Festival and a push to establish a tool library.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need more jobs in Ballarat,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need councillors who\u2019ll put our community first by fighting for local workers and local industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf elected I\u2019d campaign to develop a council jobs plan that doesn\u2019t just focus on tourism and the visitor economy but invests in healthcare, education, and manufacturing industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of Crs Moloney and Hudson, Geoff Howard is probably the next most recognisable name on the ticket.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Geoff Howard.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He spent nearly 20 years in the State\u2019s Legislative Assembly as the Member for Ballarat East before the electorate was turned in the current seat of Buninyong.<\/p>\n

Yet before that he cut his teeth in local politics, serving three terms on a pre-amalgamation Ballarat City council in the late-80s and early 90s, including a stint as mayor.<\/p>\n

Mr Howard said his return to civic duty was driven by a desire to improve the City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a number of issues at council that concerned me, that was before the concern about the chief executive officer, so clearly there have been a number of other issues that have shown someone of my experience could make a significant contribution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterestingly enough the acting chief executive Janet Dore was my last chief executive officer when I left the City of Ballarat. So there are some things go around.\u201d<\/p>\n

With almost thirty years of political experience, Mr Howard said the Labor ticket set for Octobers election was made up of a good mix of candidates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn any level of government it\u2019s always very important you have some people with experience and that you also have some new people who have new ideas to offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Statewide municipal elections, including for the City of Ballarat will take place in October. The ballot will be conducted via post, with vote counting set to begin on 24 October. The current City council will begin a period of caretaker mode one month before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Labor Party endorses candidates across the City ahead of October council vote. SIX candidates are set to run on a Labor Party group ticket across all three City of Ballarat council wards in this year\u2019s municipal elections. The alliance includes three well known faces like sitting councillors Des Hudson and Daniel Moloney, and former Member […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":70152,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-70151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nALP announces citywide ticket - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ALP announces citywide ticket - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Labor Party endorses candidates across the City ahead of October council vote. SIX candidates are set to run on a Labor Party group ticket across all three City of Ballarat council wards in this year\u2019s municipal elections. The alliance includes three well known faces like sitting councillors Des Hudson and Daniel Moloney, and former Member [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alistairfinlayjournalist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-29T00:10:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2020\/07\/A02I0268-scaled-e1595981158727.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alistair Finlay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alistair Finlay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alistair Finlay\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/9bf999ff27982396123a6d7a9abe115b\"},\"headline\":\"ALP announces citywide ticket\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-29T00:10:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1354,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/A02I0268-scaled-e1595981158727.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/\",\"name\":\"ALP announces citywide ticket - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/A02I0268-scaled-e1595981158727.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-29T00:10:46+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/A02I0268-scaled-e1595981158727.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/A02I0268-scaled-e1595981158727.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":667,\"caption\":\"Star power?: Cr Des Hudson, Jay Morrison, Kumuda Simpson, Cr Daniel Moloney, Bridget Aitchison and Geoff Howard are part of a Labor Party ticket at the next council election. 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Once at Westlock News, The Advocate, and the Latrobe Valley Express. Oilers fan. Email: alistair@timesnewsgroup.com.au Facebook: @alistairfinlayjournalist twitter: @alistairfinlay_ Instagram: @alistairfinlayeditor\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/alistairfinlayjournalist\\\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/author\\\/alistair\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ALP announces citywide ticket - Ballarat Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/alp-announces-citywide-ticket\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ALP announces citywide ticket - Ballarat Times","og_description":"Labor Party endorses candidates across the City ahead of October council vote. 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