Voting now compulsory for local council elections

Nic Street,Minister for Local Government

With the passing of the 3rd reading of the Local Government Amendment (Elections) Bill 2022 in the Legislative Council this morning, this means voting will be compulsory at the local council elections in September and October this year.

As a former elected member of Kingborough Council, I understand the importance and value of the decisions made by local councils.

These decisions are just as important as those made at State and Federal Government level and in many cases they impact the day-to-day lives of Tasmanian residents a lot more.

By making voting compulsory, we will lift community’s perception of local government and its importance by bringing local council elections into line with State and Federal elections.

We also want to lift the community’s engagement with the local government sector, and I am confident the passing of this legislation will do that.

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