12 August 2014
The likely move to compulsory voting for businesses in the City of Sydney is an essential response to the mixed use nature of the centre of Sydney, says the Urban Taskforce.
“With the rise of apartment living in Sydney’s urban areas comes a more cosmopolitan lifestyle where business and residential accommodation are integrated and this changes the nature of urban electorates,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “The bustle of urban areas is now about shops, work places, cafes and the residential apartments above this. It is therefore appropriate that the businesses as well as the residents are treated equally and vote for local councillors.”
“The impact of requiring businesses to vote will be to change the composition of elected councillors to include more business people who will support growth. This will lead to a more balanced approach to council decision making that will support urban activity.”
“While the current proposals are focussed on the City of Sydney, the Urban Taskforce urges the government to require businesses to vote in all urban areas. Clearly the City of Sydney has the largest number of businesses but Parramatta, North Sydney, Liverpool and all other major urban centres need to be included in the changes to the council voting system.”
“The fact that nearly 80% of the rates come from businesses in the City of Sydney, demonstrates the importance of businesses being represented but only 2% of the votes at the last election came from them.”
“To help business representatives vote the government should look at electronic voting methods that modernise the process. Businesses will expect a twenty first century approach to voting and this should be looked at as part of the reform package.”
