By Violet Li and Cam Lucadou-Wells
Casey Council candidates as well as a politics expert have spoken out on how few “non-Anglo” councillors were elected from a widely diverse field of candidates.
In the six wards across Casey South during the October election, about half of the candidates come from a diverse background.
However, out of the 12 newly elected councillors there are only two from a diverse background.
In neighbouring Greater Dandenong, it was the reverse – nine of the 11 councillors are from a non-Anglo-Celtic background.
Casey Council candidate Kasuni Mendis, who comes from a diverse background, said she was saddened that there appeared to be a racial element at play across voting patterns in Casey.
“My desire was to represent all the people of the Kowan Ward regardless of their ethnic origins and to bring a youthful energy and perspective to help further our community’s interests,” she said.
She said she was in disbelief that being a young woman of colour would effectively disadvantage her in an electoral contest in this day and age.
“But I am proud of the campaign I fought, the many, many conversations I had with local people, and the fact that I conducted myself with diligence, honesty and integrity at all times.”
Another Casey Council candidate Kanu Aggarwal, who also comes from a diverse background, said people were remaining in their comfort zone by still voting for candidates from traditional backgrounds.
“They are scared of change. They talk about the change, but they are scared of change,” she said.
Ms Aggarwal said the disproportionate racial representation in the newly elected council relative to the diverse population in Casey was not good.
“This is not good in regard to creativity. This is not good in regard to welcoming new ideas and challenging the old ones which are not working for the community,” she said.
“Because if there are different people from different backgrounds, then we need to think from different perspectives rather than the same old white policies. I’m not saying that we need to change those policies completely, but we need to welcome the ideas and creativity from diverse backgrounds.
“These people need their voices to be heard.”
Ms Aggarwal said the younger generation needed to come forward.
“The older generation needs to give a chance to the younger generation rather than be hungry for the power when they’re 70 or 75 years old.”
In Casey, there was also widely-reported racist graffiti on candidate signboards.
Associate Professor Mario Peucker, of Victoria University, said this may have been due to a “backlash in the community against the relatively rapid demographic changes”.
“It’s the change that triggers the backlash … the sense of losing control of the cultural landscape.”
Dr Peucker said he was taken aback by how non-diverse the elected Casey Council was.
But on closer inspection, some candidates still gained 15 to 20 per cent of the primary vote but were defeated on preferences, he said.
“So it’s not like they were completely shunned,” he said.
He said “non-Anglo” voters didn’t necessarily vote for “non-Anglo” candidates and might tend to vote for “white” candidates due to an “internalised racism”.
“A person of colour thinks I’d rather vote for someone who knows the system, so I’ll vote for a white person,” he said.
According to the 2021 census, about 42 per cent of Casey residents are born overseas and about 77 per cent of them are born in non-English speaking countries.
Dr Peucker said in time, Casey might accept a more diverse council such as in the neighbouring Greater Dandenong.
“Casey is not as matured in its multicultural nature, whereas Greater Dandenong is much more established. It just takes a bit of time,” he said.
In the past, Casey had a “bad reputation in the multicultural community”, fuelled by fiery council debates against proposed mosques. But it has done a lot recently to address the issue, such as helping to find a South East Anti-Racism Support Network with Greater Dandenong and Cardinia councils.
“It’s on the right track,” Dr Peucker said.
Casey Council was contacted for comment.
