I’ve had a rather depressing couple of days, and I can’t face Family First just yet, so I am declaring today Independents Day (see what I did there?)! Let’s take a break from the established parties, and see what our Ungrouped Independents have to offer us…
Darren Bain is a hard man to pin down. Running as an Ungrouped Independent in my very own Northern Metropolitan Region, he doesn’t seem to have a website, a FaceBook page, or any other clues to his identity. It’s always fun to find a candidate with an absolutely minimalist web presence.
This report will therefore be short and a little bit stalker-ish, because basically all I know of Mr Bain is what I have found by matching the contact details he listed on the VEC website to his workplace and Linked In Profile.
All I therefore have to report is that Mr Bain is currently a Policy Advisor / Practice Specialist at Cure Consulting, and previously worked at the Australian Aged Care Quality Agency. He describes himself on Linked In as:
Quality and Risk Advisor specialising in Human Resource performance and underperformance issues in Small and Medium sized Enterprises. Supporting management with policy systems and the implementation of new or revised procedures. Advising management on employee productivity and performance planning.
When I visit the Cure Consulting website that matches Mr Bain’s email address, it turns out to be a single page, with a quote from B.C. Forbes, a Scottish journalist and founder of Forbes, an American business magazine.
The quote is:
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.
And at the bottom of the page we have the company motto:
Cure Consulting: Helping you turn obsticles into truimphs.
From which we may conclude that Mr Bain is not readily discouraged, and also that he needs a proof-reader for his website. It’s not a bad motto, if perhaps a little bit ‘by-their-bootstraps’ in its intent, but I am constitutionally incapable of not noticing unfortunate spelling.
I’m guessing this is a new business and a new website, because there are not currently any contact details listed.
Darren Bain also had a letter in The Age yesterday telling us:
How to vote for an independent candidate
At the bottom right edge of the ballot paper for your region you will see the heading “Ungrouped”. Under it you will find the names of people running as “Independent Candidates”. You will need to follow the precise instructions for your vote to count. Unfortunately “Grouped” and “Ungrouped”/”Independent” candidates are not represented above the line – so a quick “1” in the box above the line eliminates these candidates from the race. Democracy takes effort and is imperfect, but if you value it, please take the time to make your vote count.
