Election developments

SPEAKING at a recent forum held to discuss architecture and development in Sydney, former PM Paul Keating made some very timely and relevant comments for voters to consider in the forthcoming WA local government elections.

Mr Keating, was making the point that a major reason for the poor development in Sydney was the result of developers only having regard for their interests and no regard about how their projects fitted in with the surrounding buildings and streetscape.

He suggested that the unsuitable development was being aided by elected members of local government who were unwilling or unable to stand up against the demands of developers.

Of particular interest was Mr Keating’s demand that developers be banned from donating funds to candidates in local government elections. I wonder what Mr Keating would think of the situation over here in the wild west?

Not only do developers themselves fund local government candidates, but a number of developers are actually on council.

In the 1800s, you were required to own property to be elected to Parliament and the decisions it made then reflected this. Surely, Governments of today exist to represent the interests of the whole community and not the private interests of a narrowly focussed group of wealthy landowners and developers.

I urge all voters to make sure you know who you are giving your tick to in the forthcoming elections.

Find out which candidates are developers themselves or a being funded by developers, then determine whether they will be able to represent the whole community or just the narrow interests of a minority.

Andrew Main

North Perth