He’s been mayor of Whittlesea for just nine weeks, and now Aidan McLindon has his sights set on representing the people of Werribee in state Parliament.
Cr McLindon – who said he won’t step down from the city’s top job while he contests the state election – believes his campaign will help shine a spotlight on issues impacting Whittlesea.
They are the proposed waste to energy plant in Wollert, the state government’s Local Government Act reforms, payroll tax and Australia Day.
“I think we have an opportunity to really say Whittlesea is not going to be taken for granted,” he said.
But Whittlesea councillor Lawrie Cox disagrees. He can’t understand the mayor’s reasoning for contesting a by-election in the west.
“The only relevance is that Whittlesea and Werribee both start with a ‘W’,” he said.
“As a councillor in the City of Whittlesea, I have no idea why someone thinks there are going to have an impact standing in a western metropolitan seat rather than a northern metropolitan seat.”
Cr Cox said Cr McLindon should step aside as mayor to ensure “the interests of the City of Whittlesea are protected”.
He said while there is no legal requirement for Cr McLindon to step aside, there was a precedent.
“Precedent has shown that prospective candidates do stand aside to ensure there is no conflict of interest,” he said.
Brimbank councillors Virginia Tachos and Maria Kerr and former Brimbank councillor Trung Luu, former Melton councillor Moira Deeming, and then-Geelong mayor Stephanie Asher all took a leave of absence from their respective councils to contest the 2022 state election.
However, Cr McLindon said he was confident he could carry out his responsibilities as mayor while also contesting the by-election.
He noted there was no Whittlesea council meeting until after the by-election on February 8.
“People who know me on council know that I work from sun up to sun down,” he said.
“I will meet all the responsibilities of my role and go to all council briefings.”
The Werribee by-election is not the first time Cr McLindon has stood for state Parliament. He contested the 2022 election in Mulgrave against former premier Daniel Andrews. He also served as a state MP in Queensland.
Cr McLindon said he had a wish list for the Werribee by-election which he wanted Premier Jacinta Allan and opposition leader Brad Battin to agree to.
He said he will give them one week to respond to his wishes before deciding where to direct his preferences.
“I do believe I could find myself in a situation where my preferences are determining the outcome of the seat,” he said.
One of the items on Cr McLindon’s wish list is for the state government to withdraw plans for four waste to energy plants in Melbourne’s outer suburbs at Wollert, Dandenong South, Laverton North and Lara.
The Wollert plant proposed by Cleanaway and currently being assessed by the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Department of Transport and Planning has drawn widespread criticism from the community and has been opposed by Whittlesea council.
“I can put the incinerator on a much higher platform and help my neighbouring councils,” he said.
Cr McLindon said the government also needed to review changes made to the Local Government Act, which he said were “restrictive” and impacting the ability of councillors to interact with the community.
“The councillor code of conduct is exhaustive. If I put something on Facebook and someone makes a derogatory comment, the onus is on me to remove it, but often you don’t see it,” he said.
“You can’t banter or talk out policy … robust local representatives are restricted.”
When announcing the reforms in November 2023, the state government said the changes would improve the performance and accountability of councillors.
Also on Cr McLindon’s wish list is for a minute’s silence to be observed on Australia Day; for small businesses with a turnover of $10 million or less to be exempt from payroll tax as long as they employ an extra person; and for retired Werribee MP Tim Pallas to face a public inquiry over his travel expenses, including $72,683 spent on a trip to the UK and Europe just weeks before he resigned.
