Current state of business roll unknown

BY LUCAS BAIRD

The City of Sydney is unclear on how many businesses have enrolled to vote in this year’s local elections.

The election, scheduled for September 10, is the first since business voting reforms passed NSW Parliament last year.

The reforms were introduced by the Shooters and Fishers Party and were supported by the Liberal Party. The legislation made it mandatory for businesses to vote and gave them two votes.

The Shooters and Fishers Party argued that in most households at least two people vote and it would be more equitable for businesses to get the same value as the average household.

At the moment, the City is uncertain of how many businesses have enrolled, but a spokesperson for the City told City Hub the numbers would be verified in August.

“An extract of the non-residential register will be provided to the NSW Electoral Commission on 1 August. The Commission will use this extract to verify an electoral roll for the 2016 election,” the spokesperson said.

“The number of businesses in the local government area with eligible nominees will be known once the non-residential roll has been verified by the NSW Electoral Commission in early August.”

The City of Sydney is currently in the process of contacting those it thinks are eligible for the nonresidential roll.

The Sydney Business Chamber has also said it is beginning to inform its members about enrolling to vote in the next City of Sydney election.

Executive Director of the Sydney Business Chamber, Patricia Forsythe said that while they were not in support of the legislation, they will be informing members of the chamber on the vote in the near future.

“To date we have not been active on this though we will mention in future member newsletters that businesses based in the City of Sydney should expect a letter from the City of Sydney with enrolment details,” she told City Hub.

The City of Sydney has also planned several information nights about the new voting laws throughout the city.