On 13 May 2020, the LGAQ made a submission to the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee’s Inquiry into the Electoral Commission of Queensland’s (ECQ’s) Online Publication of Preliminary and Formal Counts of the Votes cast in the Local Government Elections and State by-elections held on 28 March 2020. To inform its submission, the LGAQ called for input from member councils and received 17 submissions. The LGAQ also conducted a comprehensive survey of all elected members (mayors and councillors) and council CEOs.
The LGAQ would like to thank everyone who made a submission and/or completed the survey. The LGAQ is extremely grateful for the efforts of member councils given the limited timeframe and the broader issues being managed at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The LGAQ submission details a series of shortcomings that directly concern the remit of the inquiry, i.e. the counting and publication of votes. Moreover, because it is the LGAQ’s view that the scope of this inquiry is too narrow and does not afford effective consideration of the multitude of issues that impacted the delivery of the election, the submission also identifies broader strategic considerations.
The submission makes a series of recommendations, including that a broader inquiry be undertaken into the conduct of the 2020 local government elections to allow for the canvassing of all relevant issues, including systematic analysis on how the 74 recommendations of the 2017 Soorley Report were implemented and what impeded their successful execution.