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Sydney Matters Independent Team: City of Sydney council election cock-up continues

Announcement posted by Infodec Communications 07 Jul 2016

Independent City of Sydney Councillor Angela Vithoulkas is calling on City of Sydney Council to immediately extend the deadline for business operators to register to vote at the local government elections in September following the recent discovery of a multitude of errors.  
“Clover Moore has been publicly opposed to businesses having any vote at the local government elections and unfortunately it seems that her wish has come true,” Councillor Vithoulkas said today. 

Councillor Vithoulkas says Council has listed two conflicting deadlines for businesses to register: 4 July for corporations (Pty. Ltd) and 14 July for sole traders, partnerships and individual operators.  People are confused and frustrated.  

“The 4th of July may have been Independence Day in the US, but in the City of Sydney, it was the day that democracy died for thousands of business operators who have been robbed of their chance to have a vote. 

“Even after repeatedly raising my concerns about the series of errors and misinformation being given to thousands of business owners, over and over again, Council has refused to respond on how it plans to fix it. What’s apparent is that Council sat on their hands, knowing that the first deadline (the 4th of July) for businesses was looming. Now that’s passed. 

“That’s why I have written to the CEO seeking an urgent extension of the registration cut-off to allow businesses to register who have missed the cut-off through no fault of their own. After all, why can’t all businesses have until 14 July to register, why the differing dates? It’s only adding to the confusion. 

“I continue getting calls from business owners who want to vote but don’t know when or how to. You only have to go to Council’s website to see that the errors haven’t been fixed. It’s unfair that these hard-working business operators are not only being denied democracy but face the additional threat of fines up to $2,200 if they fail to register.” 

Councillor Vithoulkas says she has also written to the Minister for Local Government Paul Toole asking that he hold an urgent inquiry. 
“The Minister must intervene to ensure that the registration process is being carried out with the utmost transparency – he must investigate why Council has given businesses wrong and confusing information and then has done nothing to amend it. I am now extremely concerned that Council’s mistakes and misinformation have the real potential to impact the validity of the election. Businesses have been silenced, but maybe that was the aim all along.” 

Sydney Matters media contact:  
Joanne Ryan:                          0421 059 866  
Richard Lenarduzzi:               0411 254 390