Gwyn Hooper, Uki
Can anyone tell me what benefit we get from federal party members standing in local Council elections?
Personally the only reason for people standing in Council election under a federal party is to try and capture the entrenched vote of their party. Also, a lot of them use it as a stepping-stone for State and federal aspirations.
You have to ask how many of these candidates would get elected if they stood as an independent?
After all, what does the ALP have to do with garbage collection, Liberal with footpaths, Nationals with libraries, Greens with rates?
Any candidate that stands for local elections should stand because they are committed to serving the local community, and not be beholden to a federal party.
They should have a policy platform that’s basically for the good of the local community. They should campaign on that alone, and not on which party they belong to.
So come the 4 September, let’s vote for independents who put our communities first and not their party line. Let’s make the 4 September ‘Independents Day’
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
