General News
7 March, 2024
Trolls, ambushes... and a little fun
Melissa Hamilton looks forward to an open, fair and equitably monitored debate at the Stanthorpe Chamber of Commerce this week, but she’s expecting an ambush instead.
The Mayoral-hopeful received a last-minute invitation to join in a Meet the Candidates event at the Stanthorpe Civic Centre on March 7, sponsored by the Stanthorpe & Granite Belt Chamber of Commerce.
“I’m going to do this in a positive and fun way. I’m not going to walk into a situation that is horrible,” Ms Hamilton said.
To feel comfortable, she has questions for president Graham Parker and vice president Nathan Colyer. Foremost, she would like to know if the livestream debate will be aired with live comments.
“No other event has done that,” Ms Hamilton told The Town & Country Journal, adding that she has already been defamed online and called a drug dealer and a dangerous ****!
"So, yeah, having “trolls chatting on this livestream, I feel very uncomfortable about that," she further said.
Ms Hamilton is not the only candidate who has raised the issue of trolling with The Journal, with a number of candidates on competing 'sides' reporting that social media has lowered the quality of political commentary.
Ms Hamilton also wants to meet with the MC of the Stanthorpe event to understand how it will be managed. She has asked that the second half of the evening include all the council candidates and not just the mayoral hopefuls.
She points out that many people she has spoken with can pick a few that they will vote for but don’t feel that they know other candidates well enough.
Ms Hamilton also questions why The Town & Country Journal has not been invited to participate, which she calls “unprofessional," asking, “Why would you have just one paper?”
Disinformation or misinformation online is an ongoing concern for this and all elections.
For instance, Ms Hamilton said claims have been made that she has never met with Stanthorpe chamber officials when she indeed had a lengthy conversation with Mr Parker recently during which he wore a 'Vic for Mayor' hat.
She laughs at Mr Parker’s not so subtle lack of professionalism," saying, "He’s clearly a Vic supporter, and that’s fine.”
The Warwick Chamber of Commerce, which held a similar event, set out to the candidates exactly how the event would run.
On the hustings, Ms Hamilton said locals are asking interesting questions about liveability and housing, telling us, “A lot of people talk to me about the culture at council; to me, I’m looking at that as a thing of the past that needs to be fixed.”
Pre-polling opens this week.
