In response to election costs

I cannot speak for the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC). However, I would like to clarify some of the questions and comments in last week’s letter from Steve Finlay.

Firstly, all local councils are required to contribute to local government elections and pay the VEC to conduct these Elections. This is not optional. The VEC determine these costs and keep them as low as possible.

In Australia, voting in elections at all levels of government is compulsory, you can be fined if you do not vote without a valid reason. The VEC are responsible for enforcing and collecting these infringements. We do expect to receive some income from infringements due to people not voting.

However, this amount is difficult to determine and will continue over the next one to five years. We do not have an interim figure to share.
Council did not incur any extra costs associated with postage, the VEC negotiated with Australia Post to cover the cost of the missing ballot papers.

Cr Mohya Davies, Mayor, South Gippsland Shire Council.