The increase in voter turnout of the recent council election in City of Yarra matched with voters’ expectations of people-oriented local government policies.

“We would like to gain more funding from the government as price of goods is getting more expensive,” said Xu, a Collingwood Public Housing Estate resident.

According to the Victoria Electoral Commission’s report, more than 55 per cent of citizens of the Yarra City took part in the election, out of about 20,000 eligible voters.

"(The turnout) is 5.27 per cent higher than that of the last election in 2004,” said Paul Thomson-Smith, Victorian Election Commissioner.

The build up of voter turnout was slow. Soon after 8am, when the election started to proceed, there were very few people were queuing to cast their votes at Collingwood Town Hall, one of the polling stations in Langridge Ward.

In the street, directly opposite of the town hall, there were eight people and independent and political party candidates handing out how to vote cards to voters.

One of them was Socialist Party candidate Stephen Jolly, who promised to provide a 24-seater bus for Collingwood and Atherton Gardens Estate aged residents for trips. To do it, he will use the 2009 council budget that is estimated at about $125 million.

Chow, another aged voter, said “We would like to have one or two days more in a week for the Seniors Free Travelling Pass".

In Langridge Ward, Stephen Jolly was the first elected councillor with 3141 votes, followed by Amanda Stone of the Greens with 2830 votes and Geoff Barber of the Labor Party on 1735 votes.