Greens and Team Hakim candidates withdraw from City of Melbourne election race

First-time Greens candidate Karl Hessian and Team Hakim candidate Bebe Oliver, who was vying to become the first-ever Indigenous councillor elected to the City of Melbourne, have both been forced to withdraw from October’s election.

Mr Hessian, who was originally running in the Greens’ second councillor position, was forced to pull out of the race for Town Hall because he hadn’t received his Australian citizenship in time to nominate.

Mr Hessian, a New Zealand citizen who has been living in Melbourne since 1997, was expected to run alongside current councillor Dr Olivia Ball, who is running in the number one spot.

With the Greens being historically successful in contributing two councillors to the City of Melbourne, Mr Hessian was a strong chance to be elected and replace three-term outgoing Cr Rohan Leppert.

However, in a note on its website, the Greens stated that while all of its candidates had nominated for council on Thursday, September 12, Mr Hessian “hadn’t received his Australian citizenship by that time so he couldn’t nominate”.

It means Parkville Gardens resident and orthoptist Aaron Moon has been elevated into the party’s second councillor position, and North Melbourne public housing resident and youth leader Barry Berih moves up to third.

Mr Hessian, a resident of West Melbourne who works in IT in the early childhood education and care sector, said that while he was “devastated” not to be able to run, the party would now move forward with its contingency plan.

Admittedly having lived as an “interloper” in Australia since 1997, he said he had never addressed the fact he wasn’t a citizen until making the decision to run for the City of Melbourne.

The Greens leadership ticket is still being led by candidate for Lord Mayor in North Melbourne resident and midwife Roxane Ingleton and its candidate for Deputy Lord Mayor – mental health peer support worker Marley McRae McLeod.

Meanwhile, Team Hakim’s number one councillor pick Bebe Oliver, who was strongly tipped to become the first Aboriginal councillor elected in the City of Melbourne’s history, was forced to withdraw because he was overseas at the time of nominations.

A statement from Team Hakim stated that “award-winning writer Bebe Oliver has reluctantly withdrawn as a candidate for the Melbourne City local government elections as he couldn’t be in Melbourne to register his nomination”.

As per Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) rules, candidates need to appear in person at the time of registering their nominations.

The error has opened the door for North Melbourne resident and Carlton-based architect Michael Smith to fill the number one position on the Team Hakim ticket, who was originally running as an independent under the name “Melbourne by Design”.

As reported in sibling publication North West City News, Mr Smith is hoping to fill the void left by the departure of 12-year councillor Rohan Leppert, who played a leading role in the city’s planning portfolio.

Mr Smith said he was excited to join Mr Hakim’s team as his “passion for architectural practice was rooted in creating spaces that serve the community”.

With the municipality's population set to double in twenty years, now is the time to plan responsibly and ambitiously for the Melbourne of the future,” Mr Smith said.

“This is so important to me that I have been running my own campaign, but having deepened my relationships with [Cr] Jamal [Hakim] and Team Hakim, I’m thrilled to have joined the people with the most relevant, compelling and ethical platform for a better Melbourne.” •