RATEPAYERS have been offered one last encouraging push to cast their 2017 local government election ballots before the polls shut at 6pm on Saturday.
As of Monday, just 23.9 per cent of the more than 1.5 million voting packages distributed by the WA Electoral Commission (WAEC) had been returned.
Local Government Minister David Templeman urged people not to pass up the chance to have their say.
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READ NOW“The local government elections are an opportunity to influence local decision-making,” he said.
“Inefficient and poorly run councils can result in poor decision making and decisions that aren’t representative of all segments of the community.”
Electoral Commissioner David Kerslake also issued a reminder to people to open their envelopes and consider their options.
“Councils make a wide range of important decisions that affect us all, so we all should have our say in how we want our local community to be run,” he said.
At the local government elections in 2013 and 2015, an average of just 29 per cent of Melville residents voted.
As of today, 29.2 per cent of the 70,608 packages distributed to local ratepayers for the 2017 elections had been returned.
The one spot up for grabs in the Bull Creek-Leeming ward, being contested by incumbent Clive Robartson and sole challenger Marie Curtis, has generated the biggest return so far with 32.3 per cent of ballots sent back to the WAEC.
The central ward, where councillor Rebecca Aubrey hopes to win another term from Callum Prior and Katy Mair, was close behind with 31.8 per cent.
Residents in the Palmyra-Melville-Willagee ward are last among the six Melville wards with just 24.9 per cent of voting packages returned.
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