Not all South West residents convinced local government voting should be compulsory

Amid a dismal voter turnout at the recent local government elections the local government minister is expected to consider making voting compulsory, but not all South West residents are convinced it is the way to go.

With less than half the eligible voters returning ballots across the South West, and some communities having less than 30 per cent returned, questions have been raised about whether voting locally should be law.

Local Government Minister Hannah Beazley is expected to look into the changes ahead of the next cycle which will see new members elected in October 2027.

There has reportedly been a consistent fall in voter turnout in recent years, with some regional areas seeing members elected on less than 100 votes.

In Bunbury, just 28 per cent returned their ballots and while some residents agreed, others said they would not support mandatory voting.

Bunbury resident Marisia Martin said making voting mandatory would improve the numbers.

“If it is not made mandatory to me, I don’t feel compelled to vote and most of the time, I end up not voting,” she said.

Bunbury’s Tanya Reid said she wanted more engagement in order to feel more involved.

“Public forums where I can go and hear what their policies are and what they are standing for would make me more engaged in local politics,” she said.

“We usually have no idea who is standing for the election and what they are trying to change.

“We need to be able to engage more.

“The residents need to take this seriously as well. I believe if you don’t vote, you loose your right to complain about what they are doing.”

Another Bunbury resident, Amardeep Singh said those with opinions should make sure they vote.

“People have different ideas, but they sit down at home and just criticise the government — you can make a change by your vote,” he said.

“You need to go out and vote for the person you think can bring the change to your region.

“The council also needs to help improving the lives of the locals so they realise there are works being done by the local politicians.”

However, one resident told the Times they disagreed with changing the rules and said the State and Federal elections were enough stress, while others were on the fence.

Dalyellup resident Kenneth Hastie told the Times said he would not like to see harsh penalties for those who don’t vote, but agreed more should.

Kelly Veitch from Dalyellup said local government should be given the same importance as the other elections, but would not like to see people fined for not voting.

Dr Andy Asquith, a local government expert from University of Technology Sydney, said local government voting should be made mandatory with only WA and South Australia allowing people to not vote.

“This would put local government on the same platform as State and Federal elections,” he said.

“People don’t vote in local elections because they do not see the importance of it.

“While it is a State Government responsible for making it mandatory or not, local governments can demonstrate to the community the importance of local government.

“The councillors and members of local government should make an effort to maintain the relationship with the voters and residents after elections too.

“Councillors need to be much more visible and accessible.”