WHAT a strange political party is Greg Watson’s Shoalhaven Independents Group. Perhaps it holds regular dance parties, trivia nights and other fund-raisers but I have never heard of any. It appears to emerge from the shadows once every four years for the express purpose of fielding candidates at council elections. Between times it appears to do nothing except collect donations, provided to the party, to the exclusion of other parties and candidates, in great philanthropic zeal by a select group of developers. Then, at election time it acts as a convenient vehicle for certain candidates to minimise their out-of-pocket campaign expenses by accessing some of this considerable war chest of funds (approximately $90,000 at the 2004 election).

The party also removes the burden of all that paperwork associated with keeping records of donations and expenditure etc, as now required under recently passed State legislation.

Take the case of the off-again, on-again campaign of former real estate agent and soon-to-be property developer Cr John Willmott. This paper reported (August 15) that Cr Willmott felt obliged to rejoin the Shoalhaven Independents Group party despite having resigned after a “huge blue” with party leader Greg Watson. What obliged him? “The cost of audits and the requirements to have a registered officer means you have to run with a party.”

What terrible fate then awaits the 38 truly independent candidates in the Shoalhaven and the thousands more around the State? How will they cope with all that paperwork, post-election?

Perhaps Cr Willmott is not good with paperwork, although this begs the question of how he managed as a real estate agent and causes me considerable worry about his effectiveness as a councillor.

But more importantly I would like to know on what basis Cr Willmott was readmitted to the party he left so abruptly? What undertakings was he required to make? Or can anyone join the Shoalhaven Independents Group and have their campaign funded by the development lobby?

O. None,

Berry.