{"id":48,"date":"2005-05-08T18:40:12","date_gmt":"2005-05-08T10:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kellerberrin.com\/?p=48"},"modified":"2005-05-09T10:45:26","modified_gmt":"2005-05-09T02:45:26","slug":"kellerberrin-sunday-8-may-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kellerberrin.com\/?p=48","title":{"rendered":"Kellerberrin Sunday 8 May 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"

I jokingly wrote to my friend Tony in Sydney about how I was going to find it hard to leave this place. I told him that maybe I would buy a farm and stay on. Tony wrote back: \u201cFunny but I find it hard to imagine you running a farm or even living in all that thundering emptiness…\u201d <\/p>\n

I like the idea of \u201cthundering emptiness.\u201d Emptiness so vast it makes the cavity in my skull resonate deafeningly. A kind of sublime vacuum.
\n
\nI like that idea, but I haven’t found it in Kellerberrin. There may be \u201cless\u201d to do, and perhaps the \u201cbest coffee in town\u201d is from my own stovetop. But I reckon fewer choices are doing me good. With a population of this size, there must be a greater connection between what an individual does, and the impact that action has on the community (& vice-versa?).<\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

Much excitement last night: Josh and Claire came up from Perth to visit, and I took them to the local council election vote-count. Here’s how it works: <\/p>\n

There are about 30 people sitting in comfortable chairs in the Kellerberrin Council Chambers. Frank, the council CEO, is standing over a big pile of yellow voting slips which have been emptied out onto the table in front of him. One by one he picks them up and reads out which names have been ticked. Each voter gets to tick three boxes. Although there are five candidates, only three will be voted onto council. Frank’s voice is a monotonous minimalist musical mantra:<\/p>\n

Ranger, Pontifex, Doncon;
\nRanger, Pontifex, Doncon;
\nSmoker, Pontifex, Doncon;
\nSmoker, McDonnell, Doncon;
\nMcDonnell, Pontifex, Doncon;
\nSmoker, Ranger, Doncon;
\nRanger, Pontifex, Doncon;
\nRanger, Pontifex, Doncon…
\n…(and so on, for just under two hours)…<\/p>\n

As Frank reads the names, Raymond, the red-haired deputy, marks them on a board with his felt tip marker: an excessively neat five-bar-gate tallying system. <\/p>\n

I’ve never seen hermit crab racing, but I reckon it must be a bit like this.<\/p>\n

Everyone is trying to be quiet. Someone shifts and squeaks in a leatherette seat. The hot water urn switches on and off at the back of the room. John Smoker’s daughter chomps down another Cheezle. Suddenly there is a moment of controversy: someone has filled out their form with the numbers \u201c1-5\u201d instead of ticking just their favourite three! Scrutineers and officials are consulted for their opinion on this point of law. It’s decided to accept votes 1-3 from this incorrect slip. The atmosphere is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Josh and Claire, fresh from Perth, have unwittingly been plunged deep into the bowels of the Kellerberrin democratic process. It is a rare and thrilling experience.<\/p>\n

Almost from the beginning the pattern is clear: Doncon and Pontifex are shoe-ins. The third position will be filled by one of the remaining three candidates. Smoker has been in council before. McDonnell is a currently-sitting councillor whose term has come up for renewal. Ranger, the dark horse, has only lived in the area for six months, but has apparently been very active in that time. <\/p>\n

Very little separates the bottom three candidates. In the final count, outsider Craig Ranger pips the veteran John Smoker by just three votes. Not quite close enough to demand a recount. The result is announced. Everyone stands up and starts congratulating each other. <\/p>\n

Stan McDonnell, however, is clearly upset. His final tally was only about eight votes shy of John Smoker’s, but that’s the way it goes. Stan has been voted off the council. He stands up muttering something about going to the pub. As he’s leaving, he passes Pauline and blusters sarcastically: \u201cCongratulations Pauline! You finally got what you achieved! I mean…you got what you wanted!\u201d And with that he storms out of the room leaving her standing there blinking and speechless. <\/p>\n

* * * * *<\/p>\n

Later Pauline, James, and Tasma hosted dinner and drinks at the Prev. From the councilly-types present, I learned a few things about the local elections:<\/p>\n