TAMWORTH’S mayor has blasted the number of ‘out-of-town’ candidates in the New England by-election and said they’re “disrespecting” the electorate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
More than half the candidates for the December 2 vote reside outside the New England electorate and Col Murray, mayor of the seat’s largest city, didn’t hold back with his summation on the amount of outsiders throwing their hat in the ring.
“I think it’s a disgrace and it shows contempt for the electorate,” Cr Murray told The Leader.
“To me, it’s a sign of disrespect to the electorate, candidates come in to promote themselves or one cause at the expense of candidates that are genuine.”
RELATED ARTICLES:
Cr Murray said the outsiders “never had any interest” in the region before the by-election.
“I struggle to believe they have the best interests of the electorate (at heart) when we’ve had no commitment from them before now,” he said.
Cr Murray said he’d work with any successful candidate as mayor.
“I’m okay to let democracy take its course,” he said.
“You’ve got to respect the Westminster system.”
Former New England MP and National candidate Barnaby Joyce has turned-down all public candidate forums and debates during the election, with a member of the Nationals campaign citing the number of “out-of-towner” candidates.
“Instead, Mr Joyce will be hitting the road and talking to voters on their terms, because he’s far more interested listening to voter concerns, than the views of out-of-towners,” Mr Joyce’s spokesperson said.
Jacob McArthur
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
Jacob McArthur is opinions editor for The Canberra Times and Australian Community Media. As part of the Canberra Times' production team, he helps the people of Canberra and beyond get the stories they need, when they need them across a range of platforms, while helping maintain a high editorial standard. Before moving to Canberra in 2020, he started with Australian Community Media in 2015 as a journalist for The Northern Daily Leader in Tamworth where he kept a close eye on Tamworth Regional Council. Jacob was also the co-host of ACM's Water Pressure podcast where he and Jamieson Murphy took a deep dive on issues and key decisions arising during one of the region's worst droughts on record.
