NSW council elections – election night results thread

1:03 – Okay I’m going to have to leave this here. I’ll come back in the morning and finish the run of the board and then look at blog posts summarising the results more generally.

1:02 – Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser has been re-elected decisively with over 50% of the primary vote for the mayoral election, while the party has gained one more seat on council, giving them a council majority.

The Labor vote for mayor has gone down slightly with the return of the Greens.

The Greens polled about 10%, but it wasn’t enough to come close to win any seats.

Most seats on the council had a status quo result. The Liberal Party and the right-wing Lake Mac Independents retained a seat each in all three wards. Labor retained its five council seats, but also gained a second seat in the West ward where former mayor Wendy Harrison retired.

12:56 – Ku-ring-gai council has been deeply divided between two factions of five councillors each.

While neither faction will emerge intact from the election, the faction of current mayor Cedric Spencer has done quite well. Two of his four councillors have been re-elected, one possibly bringing a second member with him. Two (including Spencer) are in close races, with only one decisively beaten.

Jennifer Anderson’s faction hasn’t done so well. Two councillors retired, with a third running as second on a new candidate’s ticket. That new candidate has a chance of winning, but former mayor Anderson was decisively beaten. Only Martin Smith did well, with a chance of bringing along his running mate.

• Comenarra – Jeff Pettett re-elected, alongside Greg Taylor.
• Gordon – Barbara Ward elected, with Simon Lennon and Greg Cook in a close race for the second seat. Sitting councillor Peter Kelly has been easily defeated.
• Roseville – Sam Ngai re-elected, with Alec Taylor leading for the second spot ahead of Ngai’s running mate Amanda Blackman. Sitting councillor Jennifer Anderson is in fourth position and unlikely to be re-elected.
• St Ives – Martin Smith re-elected. Sitting councillor Christine Kay is narrowly ahead of Smith’s running mate Anna-Lisa Ryan.
• Wahroonga – Kim Wheatley elected, with current mayor Cedric Spencer leading for the second spot ahead of Sarah Beresford. Councillor Donna Greenfield won’t be re-elected from her position as Beresford’s running mate.

12:43 – Inner West. The two local major parties, Labor and the Greens, have both gained votes and potentially seats. A single seat is likely key to who will lead the council.

In Ashfield, sitting Liberal Julie Passas has been easily beaten, with second candidates for Labor and the Greens tied for the final seat which may well decide the direction of council. If the Greens gain this seat it will give them a working majority with their allies.

In Leichhardt, sitting Liberal Vittoria Raciti is leading but the second Labor and Greens candidates aren’t far behind. I think there’s a good chance Labor will take her seat, giving them six councillors. It will solidify their position but doesn’t change the balance of the council.

12:37 – In Hornsby, Liberal mayor Phillip Ruddock has been re-elected with 56.9% against his sole Greens opponent, but this is a bit of a weaker result compared to 2017, when he polled 47.8% primary in a five-horse race.

The Greens have also done well on council, looking likely to win three seats, up one from their previous haul. The Liberal Party has won at least five. The only seat that is seriously in play is the final seat in Ward B, where sitting Labor councillor Janelle McIntosh is tied with the second Liberal for the final seat.

In net terms, this is an increase of 1-2 seats for the Liberal Party, with an increase of one seat for the Greens, a loss of the sole independent seat, and a loss of 1-2 seats for Labor.

12:33 – Georges River. The current council includes six Labor councillors, five Liberals and four others, but the Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party (GRRRP) has stormed in with 22% of the vote, and likely four councillors.

In four out of five wards, the three parties have split the seats evenly, although the GRRRP candidate isn’t totally safe in Kogarah Bay. In Hurstville, GRRRP have done much more poorly, and that third seat is a contest between two independents.

12:23 – Fairfield. Independent mayor Frank Carbone, who left the ALP to run in 2016, has been re-elected in a landslide. He won in 2016 with 29%, coming second out of six candidates on primary votes, and managing 50.15% after preferences. This time there are only two candidates (Carbone and Labor’s George Barcha), and Carbone has managed 74.15% so far, a 24% swing compared to 2016’s two-candidate-preferred count.

Fairfield Council has been restructured from three wards of four, to two wards of six. The Liberal Party has also withdrawn.

In Fairfield/Cabravale ward, Carbone’s ally Charbel Saliba has won two seats, as has Carbone’s other ally Dai Le. This leaves Labor with just two seats.

In Parks ward, Carbone has won four seats. Labor has also won one. It looks likely that the last seat will go to Andrew Rohan, another Carbone ally running on Dai Le’s ticket, although I wouldn’t rule out Labor.

That’s a total of 9-10 seats for the Carbone-Le team, and just 3-4 for Labor. A total wipe-out.

12:11 – Cumberland has two close races. Labor has won seven seats. On the other side of the chamber, the three Our Local Community councillors have been re-elected, along with two independent Liberals and ex-Labor councillor Greg Cummings. That leaves two more seats in play. In both cases, OLC candidates are leading a Labor candidate: the third Labor candidate in Regents Park, and the second in Wentworthville.

If Labor can win either of these seats they’ll gain a majority. If not, a conservative majority led by five OLC councillors will probably run the council.

12:02 – Canterbury-Bankstown. The most populous council in NSW. Labor won nine out of fifteen seats in 2017.

In three wards, Labor has retained their two seats and the Liberal Party one. But there are two seats in play.

In Canterbury ward, Labor only holds one seat, along with the Liberal Party and the Greens. Ex-Labor independent Barbara Coorey is currently leading the Liberal Party and the Greens, leaving the Greens vulnerable to losing.

In Revesby ward, Labor is far from assured of holding their second seat. Labor and Liberal have each won a seat. Our Local Community’s Allan Winterbottom is slightly ahead of the second Labor and Liberal candidates for the final seat. It’d be interesting to know how preferences are recommended in this ward. Another independent is sitting on just over a quarter of a quota.

11:42 – As discussed earlier, twelve seats have been decided on full quotas: seven Labor, four Liberals, one Community First, with four groups competing for the final 3 seats:

• Animal Justice – 0.85
• Greens – 0.79
• Totally Locally Committed – 0.79
• Masud Khalil – 0.77

11:38 – Camden Council has seen a consolidation of the major parties, with the Liberal Party still out in front. It looks like only one seat will change hands, with a retiring independent being replaced by a new independent. Central ward independent Robert Mills retired, and another independent Peter McLean is on 0.85 quotas. The other eight seats are currently going to candidates on full quotas. Labor and Liberal have each won one seat in each ward, with the Liberal Party winning a second in the North and independent councillor Eva Campbell retaining her seat in the South.

11:35 – Coming back to Blacktown. Labor currently holds two seats in each of the five wards, and they’ve retained those ten seats. The other five seats have gone to independents, three of whom have current links to the Liberal Party:

• Ward 1 – independent Liberal Jess Diaz, who currently holds the seat
• Ward 2 – Michael Stubley, an independent Liberal allied with Kevin Conolly.
• Ward 3 – former independent councillor Allan Green
• Ward 4 – independent Liberal Peter Camilleri, who has moved from Ward 5.
• Ward 5 – independent candidate Livingston Chettipally

11:30 – Bayside. The Liberal Party has withdrawn here, with Labor in with a chance to win a majority. Labor has retained six seats, with four independents elected, two of whom were Liberal Party members on the previous council. Labor has a chance of a third seat in Ward 1 and second seats in Wards 2, 3 and 4. The Greens are competitive with Labor for two of those seats, with independents competing with them in other wards. There is also one other contest between two independents.

• Ward 1 – Labor has won two and possibly three seats. The final seat is a race between Labor, Jennifer Muscat and John Heffernan.
• Ward 2 – Labor currently holds two seats. They’ve retained one, with independent Liberal Michael Nagi retaining his seat. Labor’s second candidate and the Greens are basically tied on 0.81 quotas each.
• Ward 3 – Labor has retained their seat, with independent Andrew Tsounis retaining his seat. The Greens’ Greta Werner is leading for the last seat, with the second Labor candidate and independent Connie Gerakis not out of the race.
• Ward 4 – Independent councillor Liz Barlow and Labor have each retained their one seat. Currently Barlow’s running mate Mark Hanna is leading Labor’s second candidate for the final seat.
• Ward 5 – Labor has retained their seat, with independent Liberal Paul Sedrak, who currently represents Ward 1, has replaced the current Liberal seat. The final seat is a race between incumbent independent James Macdonald and new independent Heidi Douglas, with Macdonald leading.

10:41 – I had meant to plug Triple H FM‘s coverage of the election results, focused on the upper north shore of Sydney, earlier tonight, but didn’t get that far, so apologies, but check them out if you’re interested in that area.

10:30 – I’m taking a short break but I will return to cover all of the major councils before the night is over.

9:43 – In Campbelltown, Labor has lost its eighth seat and thus its majority. The Liberal Party is on track for four seats, up one from 2016. Community First has retained their seat, leaving three others. The tickets in the race for those seats are:

• Animal Justice Party – 0.86 quotas
• Totally Locally Committed – 0.76
• Masud Khalil – 0.76
• Greens – 0.74

9:15 – Cumberland, where Labor won eight seats in 2017 but lost two seats to defections to shore up right-wing majorities.

The Our Local Community party, who currently have three seats, look set to benefit from the withdrawal of the Liberal Party.

On the current count it looks like Labor will hold eight, alongside 4 OLC members and 3 independents, including one who was a Liberal councillor on the last council.

– Granville – Labor won 2 seats here in 2017 but Steve Christou left the party and is now an OLC member. At the moment it looks like Labor will win one seat with Christou and an independent each winning.
– Greystanes – OLC councillor Eddy Sarkis is topping the poll. Labor will retain one seat, while former Labor councillor Greg Cummings will also win.
– Regents Park – Labor will retain their two seats easily, with OLC gaining the Liberal seat.
– South Granville – Labor has gained a second seat at the expense of the Liberal Party, with OLC’s Paul Garrard holding his seat.
– Wentworthville – Labor has retained their two seats, with incumbent Liberal councillor Michael Zaiter on track for re-election as an independent.

9:02 – In Parramatta, where the Liberal Party withdrew, it looks like the left has probably gained a majority.

At the moment Labor is on track for two seats in Epping (replacing a Liberal), and independent Kellie Darley in Dundas (replacing a Liberal). In Rosehill ward, it looks like the sitting conservative independent is struggling in a race against the Greens and Labor. The Our Local Community party also looks like they will replace Liberals in North Rocks, Rosehill and Parramatta in addition to their seat, with two other conservative independents also winning.

8:37 – Inner West, where the Liberal Party is withdrawing. The Greens vote is up substantially.

On the current numbers, most seats would stay the same but the independent Liberal in Leichhardt is in danger of losing to Labor, and the Greens are in prime position to replace the Liberal in Ashfield.

• Ashfield – the Greens are on 1.8 quotas, Labor is on 1.43 quotas, while neither of the independent contenders is on more than 0.32 quotas.
• Balmain – Greens and Labor both just under 1.5 quotas, with independent John Stamolis on 0.56. Seems likely Stamolis will hold but could go to the other two parties.
• Leichhardt – Labor on 1.6 quotas, Greens on 1.4 quotas, the sitting Liberal on 0.6 quotas. Labor in a good position to replace the Liberal.
• Marrickville – Greens on 1.6 quotas, Labor on 1.5 quotas, and independent Macri on 0.8 quotas.
• Stanmore – Greens on 1.6 quotas, Labor on 1.2 quotas, independent Lockie on 0.9

8:21 – Clover Moore’s primary vote has dropped significantly for the lord mayoralty of the City of Sydney. Moore polled 58% in 2016, but is now down to 42.5%. Yvonne Weldon, who is leading the group founded by Moore defector Kerryn Phelps, is on 16.3%, just behind Labor on 16.9%. It seems plausible that most of the swing away from Moore has gone to Weldon, but Labor and the Greens have also gained swings and the Liberals are down.

8:14 – We’re early in the count for the Liverpool mayoralty but Labor is currently on track to lose to the Liberal Party’s Ned Mannoun, who stepped down in 2016. Mannoun is on 45.6%, with Nathan Hagarty, the new Labor candidate, on 33.6%.

8:10 – Blacktown, where Labor is defending two seats in all five wards, with the other five held by the Liberal Party is not contesting:

Ward 1 – over 3000 votes, but at the moment Labor is on track to lose their second seat to independent Mohit Kumar (affiliated to Lib MP Kevin Conolly), with sitting Liberal on track to retain his seat as an independent.
Ward 2 – Labor is short of two quotas but is leading for the final seat.
Ward 3 – With over 3000 votes, Labor is on track to hold their two seats with former councillor Allan Green to win the third seat.
Ward 4 – Labor on over 2 quotas but less than 1000 votes.
Ward 5 – Labor over two quotas with independent Chettipally leading for the final seat.

8:06 – I’ve noticed some early signs of a very high informal rate, which could be due to the inability to hand out how-to-vote cards.

7:45 – Okay I’m not going to try and cover the whole state so I’m going to wait a bit longer before trying to report results by councils one by one.

6:00 – Polls have just closed in the New South Wales council elections. I will be covering the highlights of the results tonight. Hopefully by the end of the night we have a rough sense of the trends in the bigger councils.