I AM writing regarding the local Ipswich Council election, which is due in March 2024.
There will be many candidates coming out between now and the election next year, making claims that they are independent candidates.
Voter beware because running as an independent candidate doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t have an affiliation to a political party.
Any candidate who has a political affiliation and claims to be an “independent” candidate is not being honest and transparent with residents in the Ipswich Council region.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann stated in the Ipswich Tribune on the March 22 edition that “He was aware of ALP branch members in each division looking to run as candidates at next year’s Ipswich council elections, but the party would not run an endorsed team”. Mr Neumann then went on to state that “… they will run as independents”.
Why are individual candidates affiliated to the ALP running as “overcover operatives” in the 2024 Ipswich Council election? Why not be honest and run badged political party candidates so the public can see what political party they are voting for?
It is fair to say that there may be a belief that candidates who are members of political parties will have a political advantage if they run as “pretend” independent candidates, otherwise they wouldn’t do it.
It is a very disingenuous and disrespectful way to treat residents voting in the 2024 Ipswich Council election. And the finger shouldn’t just point at the ALP. In the 2020 Ipswich Council election, there were also some “independent” candidates who were LNP members. Why can’t these candidates just be honest with the public?
Currently, out of the one Mayor and eight Councillors, we have Mayor Teresa Harding who is an LNP member and Councillors Jacob Madsen, Paul Tully and Marnie Doyle who are ALP members. All four of these elected representatives ran as “independent” candidates in the 2020 Ipswich Council election. It’s a reasonable prediction to make that if they run again in the 2024 Ipswich Council election, they will run again as “independent” candidates. Again, why can’t candidates who are members of political parties just be honest with the public?
David Martin has recently announced that he is running for Mayor and that he is a truly “independent” candidate, yet there are many times that I have witnessed Mr Martin helping the Federal MP for Blair during the 2022 Federal Election campaign. Mr Martin may or may not have an affiliation to the ALP, but he is certainly a supporter of Mr Neumann.
It is this kind of behaviour that has eroded community member’s trust in politics and politicians. The community expects honesty and transparency. The only political party that they will get it from is the Queensland Greens. Any of our Queensland Greens members who run in any election do not run as independents. We are honest and transparent, and we are the only party who is serious about cleaning up politics. We have no interest in being disingenuous or dishonest.
Stay tuned for future announcements when the Ipswich Lockyer Greens launch our candidates for the 2024 Ipswich Council election.
- DANIELLE MUTTON, Ipswich Lockyer Greens spokeswoman
