By Alesha Capone
Sixty-eight formal complaints related to the Wyndham council election were lodged with the Local Government Inspectorate last year.
The inspectorate last week released a report into the 2020 municipal elections, with Wyndham’s election the third most complained about in the state.
Nillumbik topped the list with 86 complaints, followed by Stonnington on 74 complaints.
Some of the complaints submitted in regards to Wyndham were about ratepayers’ associations or anonymous material distributed in the area, while other complaints related to councillors re-contesting their seats – which is not actually an offence.
Eighty-six people stood for election in Wyndham last year. Out of the complaints the inspectorate received in the municipality, 26 mentioned a specific candidate.
The inspectorate issued five warning letters as a result of complaints made by Wyndham residents.
One of the letters related to a “misleading or deceptive matter” under the Local Government Act and four letters were about the printing and publication of electoral material.
The inspectorate also found that 144 candidates across the state had submitted non-compliant campaign returns.
All local government candidates are required to lodge returns, which are a record of gifts, donations or in-kind support worth $500 or more they were given to use in their campaigns.
A candidate must send their return to a council’s chief executive within 40 days of election day.
The highest percentage of non-compliance with handing in returns occurred in Wyndham, where 25 of 86 candidates were found to be non-compliant.
Chief municipal inspector Michael Stefanovic said his election report has made eight recommendations to improve the transparency, accountability and integrity around the council election process.
“This includes the recommendation to amend the Local Government Act 2020 to encompass social media or online activity in relation to electoral material and campaigning,” Mr Stefanovic said.
