The Aleph Melbourne 2020 Voters Guide for Local Council Elections is designed to assist voters living in councils with high Jewish populations how to best identify candidates for the 2020 Local Council Elections who have pledged to support and promote the efforts of local governments to foster a culture that is inclusive, responsive and accessible to LGBTIQA+ Victorians.
We have selected councils with a Jewish population of at least 1000 based on data in the 2016 ABS Census. The six councils included in this guide in decreasing order of population are Glen Eira, Stonnington, Port Phillip, Bayside, Kinsgston and Boroondara.
The Voters Guide is primarily based on the Victorian Pride Lobby‘s Rainbow Votes site which calls on candidates to campaign for* and support:
✅ the establishment or continuation of an LGBTIQA+ advisory committee to council.
✅ the development and implementation of a LGBTIQA+ action plan for council.
✅ flying the rainbow flag from council buildings on LGBTIQA+ awareness days.
✅ marching in Pride March or participating in Midsumma or local pride events.
Our guide contains the names of those candidates who have responded to the Rainbow Votes pledge in full, in part, or as a refusal. Candidates who have not responded are omitted from the guide. Listed party affiliation is drawn from the candidate’s registration, party membership, or social media sources.
Updates to the guide will be made as candidates provide their responses to the Rainbow Votes page. We encourage to you contact individual candidates directly if their name is not listed in our guide.
Ballot packs will be mailed to registered voters from 6 to 8 October. Completed ballot packs must be returned before 6 pm on Friday 23 October.
The Victorian Electoral Map will help you determine which council and ward you are voting in.
Feedback, corrections and updates are invited via our contact page. Information is provided here in good faith and on the understanding that it is correct.
The guide is currently best viewed on a desktop browser.
* Victorian Pride Lobby have clarified their expectation of “campaigning”:
“By campaigning, we are simply asking for candidates to push for these LGBTIQA+ priorities if they are elected, for example, by moving a motion.
We will provide support to any Councillors who take the pledge on how best to push these priorities in their council. We do not expect that a candidate can achieve this on their own if you are elected, but we stand ready to work with them and any other supporters elected to Council to implement the priorities of LGBTIQA+ people.”
Victorian Pride Lobby
Voters Guide
Please select a Council from the dropdown list above
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With the increasing visibility of gender diverse people in the Australian Jewish community, it’s important to get an accurate understanding of how many identify beyond the gender binary of female and male.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has advised that in the 2016 Census, respondents may identify a non-binary gender if they so choose. This applies to people who do not always identify just as either one of male or female.
There are two official ways to achieve this:
If you are using a paper census form, leave the Female and Male box boxes blank and write in your preferred gender identity in the space next to them.
If you are using the online census form, call the Census Inquiry Service on 1300‑214‑531 and request a special online form that has an Other option for gender on it.
