Good Neighbourhood BBQ: Election tactic?
With the state election in full-swing, we are seeing endless television commercials and signage around with candidates advocating and selling themselves the traditional way.
And with media releases filling up email accounts and the countless press conferences candidates are holding, it is exciting to anticipate what the end of March will bring.
Having come across the ‘Good Neighbourhood BBQ’- an initiative to bring the community together to learn what the City of Sydney is doing to improve the area- the timing struck me as a little odd.
In alliance with council and the local police, “the get togethers will feature Kidzzoo mobile animal farm, live music, children’s activities, a free BBQ and information on safety and security initiatives in your area”, according to the City website.
Despite in theory this being a good idea, and in no way do I not support neighbourly activities, I do have an issue with it.
After flyers were distributed around the City, with weekends being assigned to different neighbourhoods, from Foley Park in Glebe, to Pirrama Park in Pyrmont, the choice of dates became apparent.
The dates of the BBQ’s conveniently coincide with the election date of March 26- interestingly enough, the last ‘Good Neighbourhood BBQ’ ends just after the election. Fancy that. And why would that be?
Last week I wrote about MP Clover Moore’s use of taxpayers’ money to fund her own campaign (Clover’s misuse of position) after she used her casting vote to approve flyers to be distributed around the Sydney electorate with her name and picture on it- despite calls for just the City of Sydney’s CEO Monica Barone’s name to be on it.
Everyone wants to think they live in a safe community, and theoretically, these get-togethers are a great idea, but they should not be organised for the purpose of one person pursuing their political interests. Nor should they be organised as a way to secure votes. Questions need to be asked: Why begin these BBQ’s just as the election picks up speed? And more importantly, why end them four days after the election?
These neighbourly events just scream ‘vote for me’ and are clearly driven by the imminent election. Nonetheless, only time will tell what the future of the NSW political sphere will hold.
by Sophie Cousins
