22 July 2008

South Sydney backrower Dean Widders is the voice behind a campaign by the NSW Electoral Commission (NSWEC) to encourage indigenous people to vote in the 2008 local council elections.

The 29-year old Rabbitoh will be heard on indigenous radio stations from 28 July as part of the NSWEC Aboriginal Elector Information Strategy.

“The strategy identifies a number of key goals to encourage indigenous people, particularly young people, to participate in the democratic process,” said NSW Electoral Commissioner Colin Barry.

“Figures from the NSW Government’s Two Ways Together report show 19 per cent of the Aboriginal population is aged 15 to 24 and role models like Dean help us get our message across to young voters that they can make an impact on who represents them on their local council or in state or federal parliament.”

More than 4.4 million voters go to the polls on Saturday 13 September to elect councillors in 148 council areas across the State. In 2004, 93 candidates who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stood for a NSW local council, of which 29 were elected. 

The NSWEC has encouraged Aboriginal people to work as election officials, particularly at polling places located in areas with large numbers of indigenous electors.

Born in Armidale, Dean has himself expressed a future interest in working in politics or the media.

The NSWEC has appointed an Aboriginal Electoral Education Consultative Group to assist in implementing the key goals of the Aboriginal Elector Information Strategy.

These include developing specific information campaigns to encourage indigenous people to enrol and vote, to recruit Aboriginal people to work as election officials at future elections and to focus on the education and information needs of young Aboriginal people throughout NSW.

The NSWEC’s information campaign will include advertisements in the Koori Mail, the National Indigenous Times and on Koori Radio.

More information is available at www.elections.nsw.gov.au or by calling our candidate help desk on 1300 135 736.