The 2024 New South Wales local elections were held on 14 September 2024 to elect the councils of 127 of the 128 local government areas (LGAs) in New South Wales, Australia. 37 councils also held mayoral elections, and eight councils conducted referendums.
The New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC) conducted the elections for 125 councils, while the private Australian Election Company conducted the elections for Fairfield and Liverpool. No election was held for Central Darling as the council was under administration.
Background.
Liverpool investigation.
On 26 April 2024, Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig announced an investigation into Liverpool City Council "amid ongoing reports about dysfunction and staff matters within council".
The investigation concluded on 18 July, and Hoenig announced he intended to defer Liverpool's election and suspend the council because of "widespread and serious concerns about dysfunction".
On 5 September, it was announced that the election would proceed and Hoenig backed down on his threat to suspend Liverpool City Council, awaiting the report of a further inquiry into the council's governance.
Electoral system.
Like at state elections, New South Wales local elections use optional preferential voting. Under this system, voters are only required to vote for one candidate or group, although they can choose to preference other candidates. The majority of mayors are elected by councillors at council meetings, although 37 were directly-elected in 2024 (an increase from 35 in 2021).
All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation. Some councils use a single ballot paper, while others have an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting. Councils can be either undivided or be divided into wards ranging from two-member to five-member.
Voting is compulsory for anyone on the New South Wales state electoral roll. Property owners, rate-paying occupiers or lessees can apply to be on the "non-residential roll" in an LGA, as long as they are not already enrolled as a resident in that area and if they are eligible to be enrolled for state and federal elections. Voting is not compulsory for those on non-residential rolls, although it is still compulsory in the LGA where they are on the residential roll.
Business vote in Sydney.
In 2014, then-Liberal premier Mike Baird introduced a law for that gave businesses that own, lease, or occupy rateable land in the City of Sydney two votes each. Voting for businesses in Sydney also became compulsory. Many critics saw the decision as an attempt by the Liberals to unseat Clover Moore as lord mayor. The business vote came into effect at the 2016 election and was again in force at the 2021 election.
Following Labor's victory at the 2023 state election, independent MP Alex Greenwich wrote to the new local government minister, Ron Hoenig, requesting that the business vote was removed.
On 13 September 2023 Hoenig formally announced that the business vote would be removed, starting at the 2024 election. Eligible people will still be able to apply to be on the non-residential roll, however only one person would now be entitled to be enrolled on behalf of non-residents − the same as all other LGAs.
Party changes before elections.
A number of councillors joined or left parties before the 2024 elections.
Political parties.
The following registered parties contested the local elections:
In addition, a number of local government-registered parties also contested.
Candidates.
A total of 3,889 candidates contested the elections for both mayoral and councillor positions. Of that, 1,635 candidates were contesting councillor and mayoral positions in Greater Sydney LGAs. Candidate nominations closed at midday on 14 August 2024.
The Greens had 376 councillor candidates and 22 mayoral candidates. More than 50 candidates were from a Hellenic background.
Liberal Party missed deadline.
On the day that nominations closed, the Liberal Party revealed they had missed the deadline to nominate 164 candidates in 16 different LGAs. The error was described by Liberal leader Mark Speakman as "probably the worst act of mismanagement" in the party's history.
One day later, on 15 August 2024, the Liberal Party state executive resolved to terminate the employment of its state director, Richard Shields. Shields said party president Don Harwin volunteered to run the nomination process so he could maintain his focus on the next federal election.
Harwin requested that the NSWEC reopened nominations for another seven days, but his request was denied. The party then briefly considered taking legal action against the NSWEC, but ultimately decided against doing so.
Campaign.
The Libertarian Party campaigned on ending "woke agendas", smart cities, and cutting council rates, and the party was given a higher chance of winning in areas where the Liberal Party had failed to nominate candidates. This was the party's largest-ever local elections campaign.
In Cumberland, Our Local Community (OLC) pledged to ban Welcome to Country and smoking ceremonies if elected to a majority. Shoalhaven Independents Group pledged to re-introduce Australia Day Awards and citizenship ceremonies on 26 January if the party gained control of Shoalhaven City Council.
More than 50 campaign signs for the Matt Gould Team were vandalised in Wollondilly.
Housing.
Housing was seen as a significant issue in the elections, especially in Greater Sydney. Senior officials in the state government were reportedly "bracing for unpredictable election results" that would threaten the housing policies of the Labor government.
A survey conducted by "The Sydney Morning Herald" found that "protecting local heritage" was the main priority for many candidates in Greater Sydney.
Israel–Hamas war.
The Israel–Hamas war was the subject of campaigning in the local elections. A group called "Better Council" targeted Greens candidates in the LGAs of Inner West, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra over the party's "[focus] on radicalism". The group's spokesperson is Sophie Calland, a member of the Labor Party.
Another group, called "We Vote For Palestine", asked candidates to sign their pledge, which included supporting a ceasefire and divesting from Israel.
A number of Labor and Liberal campaign signs in Inner West Council were vandalised with "Boycott Israel" and "This Candidate Votes For Genocide" stickers.
Referendums and polls.
In addition to the local elections, eight LGAs held referendums and a further two held advisory polls.
Results analysis.
Labor.
Labor had several significant wins, including gaining majorities in Wollongong and Penrith (the latter after all five Labor candidates in East Ward were elected unopposed) and holding off a Greens challenge on Inner West Council. However, the party lost majorities in Canterbury-Bankstown and Cumberland. Labor also suffered swings against them in Fairfield, where the Carbone-Le Alliance was returned to a majority with increased support. Labor's Newcastle lord mayor, Nuatali Nelmes, was also defeated.
Liberal.
The Liberal Party was significantly impacted by its failure to nominate many candidates, but the party won a majority in Ryde (including winning Ryde's first directly-elected mayoral election). The party also returned to having representation in Parramatta, after not endorsing candidates there in 2021. There was an increase in the number of Liberal members elected without party endorsement.
Greens.
The Greens won their first-ever seats in Blacktown and Cumberland, as well as a record amount of seats for the party in Bayside, Campbelltown, Parramatta and Wollongong. However, the party lost votes in Randwick.
Libertarian.
The Libertarian Party benefited in areas where the Liberals were unable to recontest, especially MidCoast Council, where they became the largest party.
This was a record result for the party, which has previously won two seats at the 2012 local elections (under their former "Liberal Democrats" name). The party had the fourth-largest amount of candidates statewide, only behind Labor, the Liberals and the Greens.
Others.
Your Northern Beaches Independent Team returned to being the largest party on Northern Beaches Council after the Liberals failed to nominate candidates.
Our Local Community lost its four seats in Parramatta. The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party won four seats (one less than 2021 but one more than what the party had before the election), including two councillors elected in Dubbo.
References.
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