Radio 3CR interview now available

Back on Friday 31 October, I had the good fortune to be invited onto Radio 3CR's Keep Left program to talk about why I am running as an independent for Rucker Ward in the 2008 Darebin Council elections.

In short, it's all about democracy, and improving the representation and participation of residents in the running of their local Council. A big part of that is electing independent, community and other progressive Councillors to break the current control of Council by a single faction of a single political party.

Just a note on the (until recently) proposed Councillor conflict-of-interest laws. At the time of the interview, the government had backed down on laws that would have targeted community engagement rather than inappropriate financial interest as an influence on Councillor voting, but successful amendments were yet to be passed - they now have, and it just shows what a community protest on the steps of Parliament can achieve!

So, here it is, courtesy of Radio 3CR and the fantastic podomatic free online podcasting service.

Stay tuned for further podcasts on this channel as the campaign progresses. Feel free to leave comments, send questions, or contact me offline via email. Alternatively, give me a call on 0404 526 555 to get hold of me directly.

Back to my campaign website

Brumby moves to muzzle councillors

In yesterday's edition of The Age, ('Personal issues vote ban', p.1, 22/10), Kate Lahey and Jason Dowling write about Councillor conflict of interest laws set to go before the Victorian Upper House. The laws are an attack on democracy and must be rejected.

If, as Lahey and Dowling identify, some earlier expressions of their views may preclude Councillors voting on an issue because of deemed conflict of interest, it stands to undermine the legitimate democratic reasons candidates campaign to be elected – that is, because they have policies they believe will benefit the people they would represent in the Council Chamber.

The laws should instead target the hidden, and sometimes financial, motives that might influence a Councillor's vote – fertile ground, I should think, for Minister Wynne's reforming zeal.

It is this distinction - between having views on an issue and a pecuniary interest in it - that was picked up in today's excellent Age editorial. There were also many well argued letters to the editor published in today's edition (Scroll down the letters page to 'What's good for the goose...').

How telling that John Brumby's undemocratic proposal comes just as community candidates and reform by the Victorian Electoral Commission are challenging Labor's power base in Councils such as Darebin in November's elections. While Parliament will decide on these laws, Darebin residents should ask Council candidates their views on this important issue, and vote accordingly.

Back to my campaign website

Schools and big business the wrong mix

Yesterday's announcement that big business is to get a new role in schools is but one step in a continuing shift towards the private for our declining public education system. In The Age yesterday, Farrah Tomazin wrote:

big companies will be asked to play a greater role in public education, 'partnering' schools in disadvantaged suburbs and areas with skills shortages.

They will also be asked to assist with financial contributions, student mentoring programs or 'in kind' donations such as computers and equipment.

Surprisingly, the Australian Education Union and the Victorian Association of State School Principals came out with qualified support. However, Victorian State President of the AEU, Mary Bluett, hit the nail on the head when she said:

If any association with a business means that the school itself, or the students, become a market for that business, then we'd oppose it.

And that's the problem. Businesses are going to expect a return on investment for their support of schools. Whether that takes the form of influencing curriculum, or of leveraging their financial support to influence government in other areas, there are big problems with this kind of proposal.

Schools are already set to be privately built and operated, and the increased injection of private funds only continues this trend. At the same time, inadequate public funding has turned many schools into petty fundraising operations when their real business is not a business at all - it's the education of our children.

In response to yesterday's article, The Age has today run a few letters opposing the move. Here's mine:

Truly private education

THE move to bring big business into schools is a distraction from the inadequate public funding and poor government accountability in providing school education in Victoria. Should the education of our children be so contingent on corporate benevolence? Will schools really be able to hold such businesses at arm's length from their curriculum?

In a supposedly public system that will increasingly be privately built and operated, and now funded, what kind of leverage do you think private interests will have over public education? Maybe one day the Brumby Government will outsource itself to a corporation.

The proposal should not go ahead. Given, however, that it looks set to proceed, Premier Brumby should be immediately challenged to make public the detail of mechanisms to ensure that undue influence of schools, and of government, will be prevented. Or are such measures a mere afterthought, overshadowed by the lure of cash?