The Greens are calling on the No Parking Meter Party (NPMP) to reveal were their preferences are going in South and Central Wards. NPMP founder Charles Mathews has swapped preferences with the Labor party in every Council election since at least 1995.
In 2005 Labor Councillor Michael Daley moved on Council to commence a roll out of parking meters across the Council area. But the Greens believe that NPMP will still exchange preferences in South and Central Wards.
South Ward Greens candidate David Allison said this week,
"Charles Mathew set the No Parking Meter Party up and he controls every thing it does. He alone will decide where the preferences go. I predict that on polling day he will produce a HTV with a preference going to the Labor Party because he needs their preferences to get back into Council as has since 1995."
The NPMP are only running in two wards, South Ward where Charles Mathews is trying to regain the Council seat he lost in 2004 and Central Ward where Labor must protect its' valuable number two seat.
The Randwick Returning Office lists only one phone number for all six NPMP candidates, which the Southern Courier has reported as being Charles Mathews' mobile number.
Central Ward Greens candidate Lindsay Shurey said this week,
"The NPMP was set up independently of local activists who were fighting against parking meters in 2004 and 2005. Charles Mathews simply jumped up uninvited at a major rally and announced that he was forming a party. None of us knew it was coming. He stole our issue with no consultation. All of us will now be very disappointed if he now distributes a how-to-vote on polling day that gives preferences to the Labor party who were major proponents of the proposed parking meter roll out in 2005."
Contact:
Greens Central Ward candidate Lindsay Shurey
Greens South Ward candidate David Allison