Pro-tunnel Doyle new Lord Mayor

ROBERT Doyle is Melbourne's new lord mayor after voters flocked to the former Liberal Party state leader in the hotly contested election.

Mr Doyle easily outpolled his nearest rivals but had to rely on preferences to be calculated late last night to be crowned mayor.

Mr Doyle said he was delighted with the support voters had shown him.

His strong vote was reminiscent of the performance of outgoing Lord Mayor John So at the 2004 election and will give him a mandate to pursue his contentious policy of returning cars to Swanston Street.

Other Doyle priorities include more police patrols in the CBD, a review of the Melbourne City Council voting system and a forensic examination of the council's finances.

Mr Doyle said he would like to meet the Premier, Police Minister and Roads Minister as soon as possible to begin work on his new agenda.

Mr Doyle, a Liberal Party member, has said he believed he could work well with the Brumby Labor government.

Mr Doyle led the mayoral vote count from the start, but a field of 11 candidates and complicated preference deals meant the result was not confirmed until 10.45pm.

Others who had a chance of winning until late included the bookies' favourite, Labor-aligned Peter McMullin, the Greens' Adam Bandt, former councillor Catherine Ng and former deputy lord mayor Gary Singer.

Mr Singer said Mr McMullin's "negative" election campaign, which included leaflets attacking other candidates, had put off voters.

"I think people didn't like the McMullin negative campaign; I felt that way myself," he said. "A disappointing way of conducting themselves."

A senior Labor Party source said Mr McMullin's vote had been below expectation.

Mr Singer said Mr Doyle would struggle to return cars to Swanston Street because the other candidates and councillors opposed the policy.

Unlike Mr So, Mr Doyle will not have a majority of councillors behind him and will need to negotiate policies through the council.

Ms Ng, who polled below expectation following personal attacks against her during the campaign, had no regrets.

"I have run a clean and good campaign and I am very proud of that," she said.

The Greens' Mr Bandt said he was "thrilled with our vote" — the second highest number of primary votes.

But he said Labor's decision to preference Mr Doyle ahead of the Greens might have helped Mr Doyle win.

The results for the Melbourne city councillors indicate more than two-thirds of the previous council will not be returned.

Councillors Brian Shanahan, Carl Jetter and Peter Clarke will return. New councillors include John So's former chief of staff, Kevin Louey, the Greens' Cathy Oke, Ken Ong and Jennifer Kanis.

Overall, voting for the Melbourne City Council was down, with only 62% of the nearly 100,000 eligible voters casting a ballot...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au

Rotten system makes a mockery of democracy

PROFILE counts — that is the lesson out of the contest for Melbourne's next lord mayor.

Just as John So swept the field in 2004 after building up a strong public profile, Robert Doyle attracted by far the most primary votes in the race for the mayoralty based on a strong public profile — but in an embarrassment for the council voting system, it still did not guarantee him victory.

Doyle ran a quiet campaign, he made few public appearances, did not door knock and spent modestly.

But his four years as state Liberal opposition leader gave him brand recognition, made him familiar with voters, and gave him an image of a steady hand. He was no unknown.

On the other hand, the bookies' favourite, Labor's Peter McMullin, was known by relatively few four weeks ago.

The former Melbourne deputy lord mayor and mayor of Geelong spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the last few weeks building up his brand — and attacking that of others. It failed to attract a majority of primary votes, with Doyle attracting double the votes that went McMullin's way.

The Greens' Adam Bandt also attracted more votes than McMullin, with strong support from residents.

McMullin's rivals were lining up last night to attack his big spending, and often negative campaign. One estimated that more was spent on every vote he received then ever before in a Victorian council election.

Doyle, on the other hand, has resurrected a moribund political career, having been severely damaged by the drubbing he received at the hands of Steve Bracks at the state election in 2002.

He said last night he would not consider a return to state politics following his strong lord mayoral vote.

But he has been clearly energised by his strong showing, and win or lose, Victorians will be seeing more of him on the public stage.

If elected, Doyle has committed to reforming the Melbourne City Council voting system — something that is long overdue.

Last night Doyle had almost twice as many votes as his nearest opponent but any one of five of the 11 candidates who stood for lord mayor could still win.

Such a system raises the question of who really decides the outcome: the voters or the back-room dealers who decide preference deals?

The best policies — not the best preference deal — should count.

The Melbourne City Council voting system must be reviewed, and Doyle has vowed to lead the charge.

If successful, the man with the profile will have the prestige of mayoralty and the support of voters to push for change.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

McMullin firms for lord mayor role, but is he a little bit stale?

A serial seat chaser or a passionate servant of the community? Meet the lawyer who may lead Melbourne.

NEXT Sunday Melbourne will have a new lord mayor. There's barely a political commentator in the state brave enough to predict the winner - the city's electoral system is too quirky and the preference flows too unpredictable. But yesterday the bookie's favourite was a man called Peter McMullin.

So, who is Peter McMullin and what sort of lord mayor would he make?

In the race to Town Hall, McMullin, 56, has stood out. He is the biggest spender, producing a letterbox-clogging tide of paper. He is the man the State Government wants to win, although it is not saying so publicly (the Labor Party has decided not to officially endorse a candidate). And the Labor lawyer, who once ran one of the state's biggest legal aid practices, has thrown more mud than anyone else (in two mail-outs, attacking The Greens and current councillor Catherine Ng, and recently targeting former Liberal leader Robert Doyle for not turning up to community forums).

McMullin has also secured two important endorsements, one from former premier Steve Bracks, who said he "couldn't think of a better person" to be the city's next mayor, and the other from Lord Mayor John So, who described McMullin as "someone I have always held in the highest regard".

The mediation lawyer would probably be vaguely remembered as deputy lord mayor in the late 1990s and for his run for lord mayor in 2001. He has a long record of community service and is deputy president of the state's business lobby group and Museums Victoria.

He certainly has his enemies - mostly within the Labor Party. Many members were upset by his choice of deputy, Liberal Party member Tim Wilson, most Melbourne local branch members preferring the more left-leaning Will Fowles, a fellow Labor candidate. The local members were overruled by ALP head office, which is run by McMullin's right faction, Labor Unity, the same faction as Premier John Brumby.

Perhaps the best indication of Lord Mayor Peter McMullin is his 2005-06 stint as the mayor of Geelong. Jim Cousins, the chairman of the Committee for Geelong, said McMullin did not get much of a chance to prove himself as mayor because it was a year-only term and the city's culture was very anti-change. "He's very politically, well, astute," said Cousins. "He knows how to get the best out of a particular position. Peter can do the job, but it comes down to the best person on the day."

His stint on the Melbourne council, however, gets less favourable reviews. Former City of Melbourne Labor councillor Kevin Chamberlin, who served with McMullin in the 1990s, said he was dubbed Marcel Marceau because "he never said anything" when meetings became heated. He will do whatever the State Government wants, Chamberlin predicts.

Rob Maclellan, who was the Kennett government's local government minister when McMullin was deputy lord mayor, told The Sunday Age he was "the darling of the Kennett government", always ready to follow the premier's line.

Maclellan said he believed Melbourne deserved better. "I don't think he would be a puppet of the State Government, I think he would be a puppet of his own ambitions."...

Read the whole article at TheAge.com.au

Lobby group gets on Bandt-wagon

Bianca Hall

The Kensington Association - founded by ALP members - has for the first time publicly endorsed an Australian Greens Candidate, Adam Bandt, for Melbourne lord mayor.

The residents' association and lobby group has also endorsed current Melbourne councillor and independent, Catherine Ng.

Both candidates have been the subject of a concerted negative campaign run by Geelong councillor Peter McMullin, a member of premier John Brumby's dominant ALP right faction.

The group's endorsement of Mr Bandt is largely due to the Greens' long-running and successful campaign against Sir Rod Eddington's proposed east-west tunnel link, which would join the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road.

In his plan, Sir Rod identified JJ Holland Park as a likely staging post for the freeway, and residents have organised massive protests against the plan, in collaboration with the Greens.

In June, facing strong pressure from hundreds of protesters and residents, Melbourne Council voted to oppose the tunnel.

The association canvassed lord mayor candidates on a range of issues facing the community.

"In terms of reading the mood of the neighbourhood, the responses ranged from outstanding to abysmal', secretary David Ettershank said.

"The panel's lowest marks went to the Robert Doyle-led Activate Melbourne ticket. Robert Doyle has a proud history of service to the Victorian public, but his team's response was extremely poor in terms of local priorities," Mr Ettershank said.

Mr Doyle told TMT last week he was a strong supporter of the proposed tunnel, and if he elected he would also open Swantson Street to traffic 24 hours a day.

"(Swanston Street) is not just a mess, it's a failed experiment," Mr Doyle said.

"It was a far-left idea that we could turn it into a European boulevard."

And he said he would overturn the council's opposition to the east-west freeway.

"Are you there as a reflection of a large and vocal group, or are you there to make decisions that are best for all people?"

Transcribed from The Melbourne Times.

On that last quote, by 'large and vocal group' I assume he's meaning the transport lobby? ;)

Googled! Mayoral race turns to cyber warfare

Surprise: How a Google search for Cr Catherine Ng leads to her rival.

LORD mayoral candidate Catherine Ng got a rude surprise late on Saturday when she typed her name into Google.

Instead of a link to her website, the first item to show up on her name search read like this: "Vote 1 Peter McMullin. The safe choice for Lord Mayor."

This was no isolated cyber incident. Google searches for other lord mayoral candidates — including Gary Singer, Adam Bandt, Gary Morgan and Robert Doyle — were all leading to the same place: the rival McMullin campaign and its website.

But at what cost? Cr Ng estimates Cr McMullin has been paying Google hundreds of dollars a day for his "sponsored link" to appear when other candidates are searched.

A legitimate use of technology? Or a questionable act of cyber warfare?

Cr Ng's initial reaction was to find it "really annoying". She resolved to fight back, buying a "sponsored link" of her own to appear on Google — but only when her name is typed in.

The cyber spat shows how far council electioneering has gone beyond the old ways of doorknocking, letter drops and posters. Big billboards, YouTube films and volunteers who leave messages on answer machines are among the new arsenal.

Former state Liberal leader Robert Doyle has a billboard on Racecourse Road, a website, a YouTube message and has done letterbox drops. But despite describing his campaign as "back to basics", he hasn't knocked on a single door.

Cr McMullin has been doorknocking with John So, the retiring Lord Mayor. Residents have also been receiving phone calls from members of the McMullin camp — all volunteers, according to campaign director Kimberley Kitching. She said the Google ads were aimed at busy voters. "We know that people are looking for campaign information more and more from the internet and Google ads is one way of doing that," she said.

The Greens' Mr Bandt has doorknocked, spoken at forums, attended council meetings and used websites such as Facebook.

Cr Singer has an ad on Google. But like Cr Ng's, his ad only appears when his name is typed.

Serious lord mayoral campaigns are said to cost at least $120,000, with just one mailout to the electorate costing about $70,000. Mr McMullin is said to be spending $650,000. Ms Kitching denied it was that high.

In Hobsons Bay, council candidate Kate Kennedy has a cheaper plan. Inspired by Barack Obama, she has adopted a web-based approach which she says will cost several hundred dollars. "We're still considering whether we can afford posters," she said.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Doyle tops poll as lord mayoral race turns dirty - TheAge

FORMER Liberal leader Robert Doyle and Greens lawyer Adam Bandt are the most popular choices to become Melbourne's next lord mayor, according to a Sunday Age readers' poll.

Violence in the city, traffic congestion and making Melbourne more environmentally sustainable were the biggest challenges facing the city, along with public transport, according to the poll of more than 1000 readers.

One in four said that if they could vote in the election, which is limited to residents and businesses in and around the CBD, they would vote for Mr Doyle, the mayoral election's highest-profile candidate. Another 20% nominated Mr Bandt. Current councillor Catherine Ng came third on 14%. The survey showed a strong gender distinction, with nearly a quarter of women choosing Mr Bandt and 34% of men keen on Mr Doyle.

The poll also found that people were only moderately interested in the mayoral race and that most readers believed John So to have been a good (33%) or fair (36%) mayor...

Read the whole article in TheAge.com.au my bold.

I've gotta say, I'm really disappointed in The Age with this semi-beat-up. They've polled people outside of the City of Melbourne electorate, which potentially has close to no relevance at all.

Kensington Association City of Melbourne Candidate Questionnaire and Public Meeting

Take a look at the responses from candidates for the City of Melbourne regarding a whole heap of Kensington issues, including most prominently, the future of JJ Holland Park.

kensingtonassociation.org.au

They are also hosting a 'Meet the Candidates' public meeting. Rock up to the Holy Rosary School, Gower St Kensington, from 7:30pm on Monday November 17th to hear what the candidates have to say, and voice your opinions.

Leaflet muddies lord mayoral race

Jason Dowling

THE battle for Melbourne's next lord mayor has turned nasty, with a Labor-aligned candidate launching an assault on the left-wing Greens in leaflets to be sent to thousands of homes and businesses.

In an attack reminiscent of state Labor's campaign for last year's Albert Park byelection, the leaflet from Labor Party member and lord mayoral candidate Peter McMullin starts with the message "No classes today, Greens Party have shut this school".

It goes on to say that it is the policy of the Greens to phase out selective government schools and asks: "Why does the Greens Party want to close MacRobertson Girls' High School & Melbourne High? And just why do people keep voting for the Greens with these type of policies?"

In the days leading up to the September 2007 Albert Park byelection, a letter authorised by the ALP's state secretary was sent to thousands of residents, criticising the Greens' policy of "phasing out selective schools". Greens' candidate Adam Bandt rejected the claim the party wanted to close schools.

He said the leaflets were a desperate smear.

"I think this shows that Labor is becoming increasingly desperate," he said.

"First they teamed up with the Liberals to run on a ticket, second they decided to preference the Liberals and now they're are delving into matters that are not even in the council's controls to try and run smear campaigns.

"This kind of negative campaigning has the hallmark of a desperate team."

Mr McMullin, who is in the same Labor Party right faction as Premier John Brumby, said the leaflet was justified.

"A lot of people within the City of Melbourne are making decisions about their education for their children and they need to know what the Greens' policies are," Mr McMullin said.

He said it was important that education was discussed, even though the council has no policy responsibility for it. Melbourne City Council had an "advocacy role" in the area.

Mr McMullin said the Greens were happy to talk about State Government transport issues.

Mr McMullin, who is a Labor Party member, said the leaflet was organised by his campaign and was not linked to the party's state headquarters.

Ballot papers for the election are being sent out and must be returned by November 28.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Absence makes for a distant memory for Peter McMullin

HOW soon they forget. Melbourne mayoral hopeful Peter McMullin has glossed over his Geelong and Barwon Heads connections in his election material.

Cr McMullin, as he is technically known until the end of this month, is considered a favourite to take the City of Melbourne top job.

But while he has referred in his election flyer to his former post as deputy lord mayor of Melbourne, he has not mentioned that he is also a former mayor of Geelong.

Cr McMullin has made a point of mentioning he is a resident Melbourne although he was quoted telling another newspaper early last month he had moved to Melbourne from Barwon Heads about two months ago.

"Like you, I'm a local resident," Cr McMullin told the voters of the City of Melbourne in his flyer.

"I also work in the city (as a senior consultant at a national law firm) and understand the importance of encouraging a strong local economy."

A spokesman for Cr McMullin said yesterday the former Geelong mayor had indeed moved to Melbourne but he still had a love of Barwon Heads.

"Cr McMullin is very proud of his role at the City of Greater Geelong," the spokesman said.

"Depending on how much space we have available on material dictates the amount of Cr McMullin's previous roles and interests that we are able to communicate to the voters."

The spokesman pointed to Cr McMullin's website, which he said had more space to tell the full story.

However a scan of petermcmullin.com.au found the following reference to his council experience.

"As a former Melbourne councillor and deputy lord mayor, Peter knows how council works and understands the changes that need to be made to make it work better for all who live, work and visit Melbourne," the website says.

Read the original article at geelongadvertiser.com.au

In addition to him only recently moving to Melbourne, many Barwon Heads residents were less than impressed with his stance on the issues raised in http://www.savebarwonheads.org.au.

Doyle to run for lord mayor - TheAge.com.au

Larissa Ham

Former Victorian Liberal leader Robert Doyle has confirmed he will run for lord mayor of Melbourne.

Mr Doyle, the state opposition leader from 2002 to 2006, will formally announce this morning that he will join the race for the top job.

The former Scotch College teacher is among nine candidates so far to nominate, including the Greens' Adam Bandt, deputy lord mayor Gary Singer, pollster Gary Morgan and Melbourne councillor Catherine Ng.

Mr Doyle holds roles as the chairman of Melbourne Health and director of management consultancy The Nous Group.

He told Radio 3AW this morning that his nomination came after careful consideration.

"I've been in public life once and it didn't end very happily. So you've got to be sure that you've got something to offer and that you want to do something," Mr Doyle said.

His nomination will not be endorsed by the Liberal Party.

"Although yes I'm a Liberal and a very proud one, I'm not bringing the Liberal Party to town hall.

"I want to actually stand as someone who can do things for Melbourne, who can activate things, get things moving again," he said.

Mr Doyle said the task of winning the lord mayor's job would be a tough one.

"I'm certainly no shoo-in as people have suggested. This is an uphill battle and I recognise that."

Mr Doyle will announce his running mate at 10am.

Nominations for the lord mayor's job close at midday tomorrow.

Ballot papers for the election will be sent out from November 11, with voting closing on November 28.

Read the original article at TheAge.com.au

Would I were king: a town of talking statues - TheAge.com.au

BOB "King" Crawford is the latest, somewhat unconventional, lord mayor aspirant. In the 1970s, he pioneered free entertainment in Melbourne's public parks. Today he promises the people of Melbourne not one, but two monorails.

Thrilling idea, of course. Possible? Probably not. And that pretty much can be said about many promises made by Mr Crawford and his more earnest competitors in the 2008 race to lead the City of Melbourne. The lord mayor's role has profile, but little power after successive state governments trimmed the council's planning responsibilities and dictated how elections are run, through the City of Melbourne Act.

But the lord mayor is not a total power vacuum. He or she can drive policies on rates, parking, clean streets, bike paths, some roads, city marketing and child care. They also get to wear the possum-skin cloak and mayoral bling. But some of the city's biggest issues - public transport, late-night street safety, sustainability and traffic congestion - cannot be solved from Town Hall alone.

This is why in some candidates' policies you will find the words "State Government" preceded by words like "urge", "encourage", "insist", "in partnership with" and "lobby". But others believe they can and will deliver major state achievements single-handedly...

Read the rest of the article at TheAge.com.au , and learn more about some (but not many) of the policies of the candidates.

Hmm... will Melbourne be the next Brockway, Ogdenville or North Havenbrook?

Labor muscle ready to take on the Greens

BATTLE lines in the Melbourne City Council election are being drawn to shut out the Greens and replace Lord Mayor John So with a new, compliant leader, commentators say.

Labor candidates spread across several tickets have combined with councillors from Cr So's team and his chief of staff, in what some predict will become a bloc designed to keep crucial preferences locked among the incumbents.

Concern about the Greens is warranted: in 2004 they came second to Cr So, who is not running this time.

Cr So's five-member team is renowned for voting as a bloc at council and committee meetings, and has been accused by rivals of being too subservient to the State Government.

Nominations for all 79 Victorian councils close on Tuesday.

Cr So's departure blows the mayoral and council contests wide open.

Independent mayoral candidate Gary Morgan says there are three groups in the field, his team included. There is a strong chance he will give his preferences to the Greens in an effort to get around what he says is a Labor bloc. "I think Labor will spend a lot of money," he said. "I think they're desperate."

ALP insiders admit the Government does not want a Green lord mayor.

Political commentator Nick Economou said a Greens victory would add to the "sense of momentum the party has in the inner city".

"If a Green mayor were to be elected that would be quite an extraordinary achievement and it would probably cause some nervousness in the ALP, because it would be certain indication of decline in support," Dr Economou said.

Monash University's David Dunstan said the election held danger for the Government.

"An articulate and progressive lord mayoral opponent of Brumby's ALP right centrism, prepared to endorse New Age urban and inner-city quality of life ideas, such as Copenhagen bike paths and a voice at the table on the transport and infrastructure debates, could cause him discomfort," he said.

He said the Government had had "a dream run" with the effervescent Cr So and would be looking for another non-political, pro-business lord mayor.

Greens mayoral candidate Adam Bandt believes there is a strategy to keep him out.

"I think there's a concerted effort by the John So and John Brumby forces to field a range of candidates that appear to be independent but in fact are all cut from the same cloth," he said. "What better way to avoid scrutiny of your record than to have the old guard split up before the election, pretend they're all different candidates, hide their affiliations and then regroup afterwards?

No one in Cr So's team is running on the same ticket, but some have teamed up with ALP candidates....

Read the rest of the article, which includes comments about some of the other current candidates, at TheAge.com.au

I, for one, try to not have an overt political bias on this site (apart from opposing the digging up of the park, of course), but keep in mind that currently the City of Melbourne oppose the digging of a tunnel through our park, and that the Labor State Government have brought about that prospect in the first place. If a labor-aligned candidate became Lord Mayor... well... I don't like to think about that. See you tomorrow where we can show them all how passionate we are!

Are you eligible to vote?

If you live in the City of Melbourne (which, of course, includes Kensington), you should ensure you are eligible to vote in the upcoming elections. Click here to go to the appropriate page of the City of Melbourne website.

There's now three confirmed candidates, and a recent poll suggest that former State Liberal leader, Robert Doyle, would be a favourite should he put his hand up.

So far, to our knowledge only Adam Bandt (Greens) has released any policies. We'll keep you posted - especially when it comes to the tunnel and the park(s).