AS jockeying for positions on the Bathurst Regional Council ballot paper heats up, it is really starting to look like a case of more of the same on the new council.
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Of the nine councillors elected in September 2012, only Gary Rush and Michael Coote seem certain to be sitting out the next poll.
Former mayor Greg Westman had seemed unlikely to run again due to work commitments, but a change of careers – and a change of heart – has him now firming as a candidate.
Another former mayor, Monica Morse – the only woman on council for the past seven years - previously stated she would not be seeking re-election but she also now appears to be reconsidering.
And the reason for Cr Morse’s indecision is that without her, there could easily be no women on the council after September.
History shows that it is much harder to get voted out of council than voted onto council.
Last time round, six sitting councillors recontested the election and all six were returned – even if Cr Morse only scraped in by the skin of her teeth. If that’s the case in September, we will again be looking a very heavily male-dominated council.
Above-the-line tickets look to be the flavour of the month heading into September, making life particularly difficult for individuals running below the line.
And the more above-the-line tickets we see on the ballot, the less chance there is that anyone below the top spot on a ticket will get a cross the line.
So the best chance of increasing the number of women on council is to have a handful of tickets with women in the number one position, but that’s certainly not what we’re hearing so far.
There has been talk of a number of the current male councillors seeking to put a woman in the number two spot on their ticket but that will count for nothing in most cases. Of course, that makes putting together a ticket a tough task for many hopefuls as it’s effectively a case of finding four mates with no real interest in becoming a councillor to lend their name to your campaign.
But a gender imbalance on on council will not be the fault of the men who put their hands up to run. Rather, it will be the fault of the women who don’t.
There’s no point complaining of a boys’ club on council unless there is a serious push to do something to change it.
We’re not seeing it so far, but we’re still a few months from polling day.
