Safe seats mask party infighting

A MONASH University senior lecturer in politics is urging residents in the City of Casey to read between the lines to discover who is running in their best interests at the upcoming November elections.
Dr Nick Economou told the News this week that party factions contested cities that were Labor or Liberal strongholds because there was no external threat.
“I’ve got to say that political parties are not as up-front in the way in which they operate in Victoria as they are in other states,” Dr Economou said.
“Quite a lot of municipalities are either very safe Labor or Liberal areas, and you’ll find they don’t get so much competition between the two parties. Rather it’s more of a competition within the parties.
“I have great faith in voters, federal, state and local. They can sniff out who are the legitimate candidates coming into elections.”
Dr Economou said, despite party politics, he believed independents could still access local government without having to align themselves with a party.
“I think local government is as accessible to anyone as it ever was,” he said.
“It’s definitely more accessible to people than when Kennett had councils run by administrators.”