Verity Firth MP, Member for Balmain and NSW Minister for Education and Training is conducting a
referendum to decide which of 26 community projects in her inner Sydney electorate to spend $300,000 of state government funding on. Residents can
vote via the Internet. This is an interesting experiment in direct democracy (discussed at
Public Sphere 2 and by
Government 2.0) , but there are a few problems with it.
A letter sent to residents from the MP (October 2009) says that residents without Internet access can request a paper voting sheet. However, that information is not on the web site (some residents may have Internet access, but not want to use it to vote).
Also it is not clear why criteria different to state elections have been used for selecting voters. The "
register to vote" instructions state that the voter must "... live within the boundaries of the Balmain electorate ..."
. As a result some citizens who are eligible to vote in state elections in Balmain may have been disenfranchised in this referendum.In addition the referendum details are on a commercially registered web site ("verityfirth.com.au" registered to "ServEssence Pty. Ltd."). Given that NSW has a history of corrupt practices involving the administration of funds at the local level, it would be prudent for this process to be conducted by the NSW or Australian Electoral Commission and all details to be on a ".gov.au" web site.
Ashfield Municipal Council
Refurbishment of the Haberfield Centre.
Balmain rowing club
Restoration and facility upgrade at Balmain Rowing Club.
Balmain Sailing Club
Refurbishment and upgrade of ladies toilet and bathroom facilities of Balmain Sailing Club.
Birchgrove park support group
The construction of a community cafe/meeting space at Birchgrove Park.
glebe rowing club
Addition of Glebe Rowing Club deck and pontoon construction.
hunter baillie memorial presbyterian church
Upgrade and fix of the hall lighting.
italian forum cultural centre
The Italian forum cultural centre fitout, at Leichhardt.
KU Laurel tree house child care centre
A heating and cooling system is required for the childcare centre.
Leichhardt municipal council
Community playground refurbishment program.
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