by Ganesh Sahathevan
Replying to
Melbourne Mayoral election is nearing: Can non-Australia citizens also vote? Melbourne City Councillor Philip Le Liu says that this is indeed a vote that foreign students can participate in. The precondition is that they register before a fixed date.
tascn.com.au/portal.php?mod
In its annual report, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) warns "almost every sector of Australian society is a potential target of foreign interference, and the threat manifests itself in different but equally unacceptable ways".
National security figures fear politicians in local councils are of particular interest to foreign agents because they often rise to more senior positions in state and federal governments.
Meanwhile for reasons yet unclear non-Australian citizens including Chinese students have been encouraged to vote in local council elections. China analyst Geoff Wade has noted instances of Chinese origin candidates in local council elections in Melbourne and Hobart encouraging Chinese students and other residents to register vote advising them that they need not be Australian citizens to do so (see Tweet above).
The legal basis for extending the right to vote in local council elections to non-citizens is unclear, but that so-called right is listed on the Victorian Election Commission's website:
iPeople who can apply to enrol
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iPeople who can apply to enrol
You could apply to be a council-enrolled voter if you:
- pay rates on a property in the council area but do not reside within the council area and were not on the roll for the most recent election or by-election
or - are not an Australian citizen, but you live in and pay rates for a property in a council area
or - pay rates on a property you occupy within a council area and have no other entitlement to vote in the council area
or - are a director or company secretary of a corporation that pays rates on a property within a council area and have no other entitlement to vote in the council area.
The right to vote is assumed to be a duty and privilege of citizenship, but here it seems that has been extended to non-citizens. This exception continues even as ASIO warns of the particular weakness of local councillors to foreign influence.
END
SEE ALSO
Australia: Radio Free Asia on Peter Zhuang 莊永新 in Brisbane h/t
澳議會親中候選人打出競選口號「選出我們自己人」被質疑企圖滲透
Australia: Radio Free Asia on Peter Zhuang 庄永新 in Brisbane h/t
Pro-China candidates in the Australian Parliament slogans "Elect our own people" are questioned and attempt to infiltrate
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