Channel Nine’s lord mayoral debate is about to kick off and we will be live blogging the highs and lows of the debate here on The Age.
The debate has already proven to be controversial with several key candidates upset that they have been excluded.
Eleven candidates are running for lord mayor in the City of Melbourne but only lord mayor Nick Reece, former deputy mayor Arron Wood, Greens candidate Roxane Ingleton and independent Anthony Koutoufides have been invited to participate.
Councillor Jamal Hakim is running for lord mayor but is not included in the debate. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Rival candidate and City of Melbourne councillor Jamal Hakim posted on social media that the exclusion has left him “silenced but not defeated”.
“Some media outlets have decided to exclude me from the debate including this week’s Channel Nine lord mayor’s debate even though I am one of the lead candidates,” he said. “This is not just an attack on my candidacy it is an attack on our democracy when the media decides who gets to be heard and who does not.”
Hakim is hosting a live Q and A on his Instagram at the same time as the debate as an alternative.
Serial candidate Gary Morgan is also upset at not being included and says it is “absolutely ridiculous” he is not part of the debate.
“I am obviously the only person who knows what I am talking about when it comes to business in Melbourne,” he says. “I am the only person who employs 600 people in Australia and 300 of those in Victoria.”
At least Channel Nine didn’t follow the Victorian Chamber’s lead and only invite the male candidates to its breakfast lord mayoral debate, excluding women and leading to claims of a “sausage breakfast” with an all-bloke affair.
