Residents in 14 councils won't head to the polls on Saturday because there aren't enough candidates to cast a vote. Those nominated in the affected areas will automatically be appointed to council unopposed. It's raised questions about why people are stepping back from local government and what it might mean for democracy.
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TVTranscript
00:00This is the second consecutive local government election where Cobar Shire residents won't
00:08be voting.
00:09There are 12 spots on the council in Western New South Wales and only 12 people nominated
00:14to run.
00:15If those people have put their hands up to do the job and they're qualified to do it,
00:19I don't see that it's an issue that we don't go to poll.
00:23It's a little bit disheartening that we've lost interest in our local council voting.
00:26Cobar Shire's outgoing councillors say there's simply not enough interest.
00:31We did have sessions in the council for people to come and listen to and find out what a
00:36councillor was being a councillor meant and they weren't intended to.
00:40There's only one or two people came.
00:42We have in the community a little bit of apathy.
00:47The old Aussie, she'll be right mate, someone else will do it.
00:50There are five councils across the state where not enough people nominated to hold a vote
00:55on Saturday.
00:57Wards in nine other councils are also uncontested.
01:00While most of the state is voting, questions remain as to why the lack of candidates is
01:05almost exclusively a regional problem.
01:08A key reason given is the rising cost of living.
01:11Regional councillors tend to get paid less than their city counterparts.
01:16In the Warrambungle Shire Council, only nine out of more than 7,000 voters put up their
01:21hand.
01:23What people are realising is that local councils don't have a lot of power.
01:28A lot of the decisions that they carry out are really decisions made in Sydney or Canberra.
01:34Well it's a problem for democracy because people should have a right to vote for who
01:38they want.
01:39A modern democracy being tested.