Canterbury-Bankstown council covers suburbs in the middle south-east of Sydney. The council’s south-western and western boundary follows the Georges River, while the south-eastern boundary follows the M5 motorway and the Cooks River, and the remainder of the boundaries are more erratic.
The council covers the suburbs of Bankstown, Bass Hill, Belmore, Birrong, Campsie, Canterbury, Chester Hill, Clemton Park, Condell Park, Earlwood, Georges Hall, Greenacre, Lakemba, Milperra, Padstow, Panania, Picnic Point, Punchbowl, Revesby, Roselands, Sefton, Wiley Park and Yagoona.
The council has a population of about 372,000 as of 2022, which makes Canterbury-Bankstown the second-most populous council in NSW, and the fifth-most populous council in Australia.
- Wards
- Redistribution
- Incumbent councillors
- History
- Council control
- Candidate summary
- Assessment
- 2021 results
- Vote breakdown by ward
- Results maps
Wards
Canterbury-Bankstown is divided into five wards, with each ward electing three councillors.
Bankstown-Darani ward covers north-central parts of the council, including Bankstown, Greenacre and Chullora. Most of the ward lies within the former Bankstown council area, with a small area at the southern tip of the ward coming from the Canterbury council area.
Bass Hill-Bura ward covers the north-western corner of the council, including Chester Hill, Georges Hall, Yagoona, Birrong, Sefton, Bass Hill and parts of Condell Park.
Canterbury-Budjar ward covers the eastern end of the council, including Belfield, Campsie, Canterbury, Clemton Park, Hurlstone Park and Earlwood.
Revesby-Bunya ward covers the south-western corner of the council, including Milperra, Revesby, Panania, Picnic Point, Padstow and parts of Condell Park.
Roselands-Bumarra ward covers central parts of the council, in what used to be the western end of the former Canterbury council. This ward covers Belmore, Lakemba, Punchbowl and Roselands.
Redistribution
No changes were made to the boundaries of wards, but the names were changed. The wards were previously named after suburbs, but they are now co-named with local Aboriginal words, specifically:
- Bankstown-Darani
- Bass Hill-Bura
- Canterbury-Budjar
- Revesby-Bunya
- Roselands-Bumarra
| Bankstown-Darani | Khal Asfour (Labor) | Bilal El-Hayek (Labor) | George Zakhia (Lib) |
| Bass Hill-Bura | Chris Cahill (Labor) | Rachelle Harika (Labor) | Charlie Ishac (Liberal) |
| Canterbury-Budjar | Barbara Coorey (Ind) | Jessie Nguyen (Ind)1 | Clare Raffan (Labor) |
| Revesby-Bunya | Charbel Abouraad (Lib) | Linda Downey (Labor) | David Walsh (Labor) |
| Roselands-Bunmarra | Sazeda Akter (Liberal) | Karl Saleh (Labor) | Bhadra Waiba (Labor) |
1Jessie Nguyen was expelled from the Liberal Party in December 2022.
History
The City of Canterbury-Bankstown was created out of a merger of Canterbury and Bankstown councils in 2016. The 2017 guide covers the previous history of these two councils and how much of the new council came from its predecessors.
Both former councils were dominated by the ALP. Canterbury remained majority Labor right up until its abolition, although Labor was reduced to just six out of twelve seats on Bankstown after the 2012 election.
Labor won a solid majority on the new council in 2017, winning nine out of fifteen seats. That included two out of three seats in four wards.
The Liberal Party won a single seat in each of the five wards, while the Greens held a seat in the Canterbury ward.
Labor’s Khal Asfour became mayor after the 2017 election, after having previously served as Mayor of Bankstown from 2015 until the council’s abolition in 2016.
The 2021 election produced a mostly status quo result. Greens councillor Linda Eisler retired from the Canterbury ward, and her ward was won by independent Barbara Coorey.
Asfour stepped down as mayor in 2023, and was succeeded by Labor’s Bilal El-Hayek.
Council control
Labor hold a clear majority of seats on Canterbury-Bankstown council.
Candidate summary
Sitting Labor councillors Linda Downey and Bhadra Waiba are not running for re-election. Ex-Liberal independent councillor Jessie Nguyen is also not running for re-election. Sitting Liberal councillors Charlie Ishac and Charbel Abouraad were not successfully nominated by the Liberal Party.
Labor and the Libertarian Party are each running in all five wards, although the Libertarian Party only managed to run two candidates fro the Canterbury ward.
The Greens and Community Voice are each running for four wards. The Liberal Party managed to nominate for three wards, but are only running two candidates in the Roselands ward.
The Animal Justice Party, Democrats, Our Local Community and Unity are each running in one ward.
The full candidate list is at the end of this guide.
Assessment
Labor has a strong vote in Canterbury-Bankstown which typically translates into a strong majority in a system of three-member wards.
Labor currently holds two out of three seats in four of the five wards. They should at least retain those seats, and their one seat in the Canterbury ward.
The Liberal Party should retain the two council seats in wards where they are running a full ticket. Independent councillor Barbara Coorey should also be able to retain her seat in Canterbury, assisted by the absence of the Liberal Party.
This leaves three seats in play.
In Bass Hill, Labor already holds two seats, and it’s hard to see them winning all three. This means the third seat would go to either Community Voice, the Libertarian Party or independent Talal Saifo.
In Canterbury, Labor and independent Coorey likely will each retain their seat. This leaves the second Labor candidate, the Greens, Unity or independent Christine Barakat, and it’s hard to pick. If Labor wins a second seat this would give them a total of ten seats.
In the Roselands ward, the Liberal Party could still have a chance of winning, but they can only accrue below the line votes with voters having to mark three times as many boxes as voters for other groups above the line. Other contenders could include Animal Justice, Community Voice, Libertarian, Our Local Community or independents Rana Sharif or Mohammad Mahbub Rahman.
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won |
| Labor | 83,724 | 47.44 | 0.0 | 9 |
| Liberal | 52,960 | 30.01 | +0.6 | 5 |
| Independents | 25,347 | 14.36 | +9.8 | 1 |
| Greens | 6,608 | 3.74 | -4.8 | |
| Our Local Community | 5,105 | 2.89 | -7.2 | |
| Animal Justice | 2,746 | 1.56 | +1.6 | |
| Informal | 12,039 | 6.39 |
Vote breakdown by ward
The following table shows the vote in each ward.
Labor topped the primary vote, with a majority in three wards. The Labor vote dropped to just 34% in the Canterbury ward, where they faced competition from the Greens and an independent.
The Liberal primary vote ranged from 23.7% in Canterbury to 36.5% in Revesby.
The vote for independents varied from 8.3% in Revesby to 24.5% in Canterbury, most of which was for Barbara Coorey.
| Ward | ALP % | LIB % | IND % | GRN % |
| Bankstown | 58.3 | 30.6 | 11.2 | 0.0 |
| Bass Hill | 51.9 | 30.1 | 18.0 | 0.0 |
| Canterbury | 34.1 | 23.7 | 24.5 | 17.7 |
| Revesby | 41.9 | 36.5 | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| Roselands | 53.2 | 28.9 | 17.9 | 0.0 |
Election results at the 2021 City of Canterbury-Bankstown election
Toggle between primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party, the Greens, Our Local Community, and independent candidates Barbara Coorey and Saud Abu-Samen.
Candidates – Bankstown Ward
- A – Libertarian
- Vanessa Hadchiti
- Roy El Kazzi
- Kristofer Seremetkoski
- B – Liberal
- Cr George Zakhia
- Long Phan
- Selina Akhter
- C – Independent
- Mahmoud Hussein
- Yasmeen Shadid
- Michel Antonios Tawk
- D – Community Voice
- Amer El-Adib
- Mohammad Kabir
- Yousef Abu-Samen
- E – Greens
- Abrar Ahmad
- Nahed Fraitekh
- John Ky
- F – Labor
- Cr Bilal El-Hayek
- Cr Khal Asfour
- Erika Lam
Candidates – Bass Hill Ward
- A – Labor
- Cr Rachelle Harika
- Cr Christopher Cahill
- Ayman Awad
- B – Community Voice
- Saud Abu-Samen
- Allan Winterbottom
- Huzaifa Khan
- C – Libertarian
- Elvis Sinosic
- John Hadchiti
- Wissam Ibrahim
- D – Independent
- Talal Saifo
- Nabil Omari
- Doha-Donna Elomari
Candidates – Canterbury Ward
- A – Independent
- Christine Barakat
- Waroud Dargham
- George Daibes
- B – Unity
- Carol Xie
- Chuan-Hui Huang
- Bei Zhong
- C – Labor
- Cr Clare Raffan
- Con Vaitsas
- Louis Pan
- D – Independent
- Cr Barbara Coorey
- Aliki Xanthakos
- Stephen Haran
- E – Libertarian
- Joshua Moore
- Julie Morkos Douaihy
- F – Greens
- Conroy Blood
- Linda Eisler
- Bradley Schott
- Ungrouped
- Martin Vella
Candidates – Revesby Ward
- A – Greens
- Natalie Hanna
- Kath Jordan
- Ned Cutcher
- B – Community Voice
- Alwalid Al-Miziab
- Hicham Arabi
- Rizwan Arif
- C – Labor
- Cr David Walsh
- Gemma Ashton
- Oliver Pocock
- D – Libertarian
- Marika Momircevski
- George Trousas
- Mario Azar
- E – Liberal
- Wendy Lindsay
- Jennifer Walther
- Richard Noonan
- F – Democrats
- Phillip Pearce
- Phan Nguyen
- Garry Dalrymple
- Ungrouped
- Marlene Marquez-Obeid
Candidates – Roselands Ward
- A – Our Local Community
- Harry Stavrinos
- Raymond Moujalli
- Maria Difrancesco
- B – Labor
- Cr K Saleh
- Sherin Akther
- H Saleh
- C – Community Voice
- Solaiman Hossain
- Faizun Pally
- Sameer Mahmud
- D – Independent
- Ali Shikder
- Rachael Pickering
- E – Animal Justice
- Dorlene Abou-Haidar
- Louise Ward
- Brad Stafford
- F – Independent
- Rana Sharif
- Taher Shaikh Mohammed
- Elsadig Mohammed
- G – Greens
- Anisha Gautam
- Shilpa Rajkumar
- Zoe McClure
- H – Libertarian
- Mark Smaling
- Carmel Nicholls
- Raymond O’Reilly
- I – Independent
- Mohammad Mahbub Rahman
- Maria Mostain
- Fahmida Khandakur
- Rakibul Alam
- J – Liberal
- Mohammad Zaman
- Cr Sazeda Akter
- Ungrouped
- Imad Kadeh
Can’t ward… after the election is over pls for your own sake read some of your posts here…
I think they over the top and
Simply in error.
Revesby-Bunya is an interesting ward. It’s the more middle-class part of Canterbury-Bankstown and it overlaps with the key marginal state seat of East Hills and the federal seat of Banks, which was a Labor seat for years and years but then fell to the Liberals’ David Coleman in 2013 and he’s held it ever since.
I wonder if the Liberals will continue to do well around there.
@CantWard – are you referring to Karen Chijoff, the 2007 Liberal candidate for Lindsay? That’s what that scenario you mentioned reminds me of.
@ Nether Portal
I expect the Libs to continue to improve around East Hills as it gentrifies it is also less diverse than other parts of the LGA. The other area Libs could improve is around Earlwood where there is a large Greek community. However, in most of the LGA especially where the Muslim community is concentrated i think the Lib vote will decline as there are fewer Europeans/Christians over time.
Nimalan,
Earlwood used to be a safe Liberal Party seat. It was held by former Premier, Eric Willis, for 28 years. Labor now receives over two-thirds of the two party preferred vote across the former seat.
Mick. Please for the sake of the once good Labor party reconsider your Blind alliegiance to them. People fixated with one party and one cause generally do not have the greatest world view in life.
@James: Yes you’re correct. The tactics and deceit that some candidates use speaks volumes of how they’ll be in office.
@ Nether Portal: Wendy Lindsey will win a spot on council.
@ Watson Watch
Interesting point about Earwlood. It used to be a Middle class Protestant enclave in an area that was otherwise an Irish Catholic working class area. Antony Green mentioned the change in voting patterns in the 2019 Barton guide. The flight path to KSA meant property valued decreased and then post war immigration changed the demographics with Greeks replacing the Anglo Protestants. Earlwood was where John Howard grew up. The only point i was really making was that Earlwood is more affluent than Bankstown, Lakemba etc and it is probably easier for the Libs to appeal to the Greek community than it would be to the Muslim communities in other parts of the LGA. As a you are are a local, it will be great for you to add some commentary about that the demographics.
@ Nimalan. The Libs will win a seat in Revesby and Bankstown.
I cannot understand why the Liberals keep regurgitating and endorsing Mohamed Zaman in Roselands. He has a record of failure.
Canterbury had an embarrassing last councillor representing the ward who was unceremoniously expelled from the liberal Party. It takes alot to be expelled from a political party. It will be interesting to see with the change in demographic how that will pan out.
Bass Hill will skew dramatically to the left because of the liberal party’s incompetence in “ forgetting to lodge nominations.
If the liberals are so clueless to put in nominations they hardly can put their hands up to as credible alternatives to Labor and the greens who are doing everything to win.
The Melbourne Riots of today have certainly raised the fact on exactly how involved the “Candidates” running for councillors have been and how much they participated in Protests, Blockades and Boycotts, albeit Climate or Palestinian.
The Pro Palestinian anti Israel theme has definitely been the biggest and number one priority for the Labor councillors and now the Greens candidates.
They have certainly carried and are using the Palestinian protest movement to take a spot in the C/B council elections.
It’s the number one issue for Labor and Greens and it’s overtaking cost of living, high council rates, roads, rubbish and overdevelopment.
@ Cantward
Sorry i missed your response above. I agree Libs will win a seat in Revesby and should improve their. East Hills is a must win state seat so Libs should put great focus on to that. I am guessing Mohammed Zaman and Sazeda Akter are Bangladeshi which is one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the country. Her election actually made the news in Bangladesh see link below. If Libs need to win a seat in Bankstown ward maybe they should run a Vietnamese candidate to tap into that community they may loose votes among the Muslim community due to Palestine conflict. The Libs should do better in Canterbury ward especially in more affluent areas such as Croydon Park, Ashbury and Earlwood.
https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/pacific-oceania/317004/two-bangladeshi-origin-women-elected-as
A couple of Interesting articles in todays Daily Telegraph relating to Canterbury Bankstown council and how funds have been siphoned and diverted off roads, Parks, community services and footpaths to fund the Ramadan Markets which is running at another loss again and asking for more money.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-express/canterburybankstown-council-election-drivers-frustrated-by-potholes-after-claims-road-funding-redirected-to-lakemba-night-markets/news-story/86511ef97575da837eec91a67d4b0402
An Interesting Article on the Greens and their vote winning Ideas?
It’s any wonder Canterbury Bankstown council is such a mess
Canterbury Ward Greens Candidate Conroy Denis Blood was profiled
The headline reads
‘Worse than Hamas or ISIS’: Local Greens candidates hope to inspire local ‘revolution’
Conroy Bloods Number One and highest priority will be his first first Agenda Item when he’s elected will be the Palestinian Conflict and supporting a BDS against Israeli companies ,Israeli businesses and Individual in the Canterbury Bankstown LGS
Conroys other priorities are and I quote
Other Greens candidates running for election this Saturday include Conroy Danis Blood, in Canterbury-Bankstown, who wants people to be able to share toys and household appliances.
“I’d like to introduce more sharing initiatives for unused household items, like toys or appliances,” he told the Telegraph for a profile of local council candidates.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/worse-than-hamas-or-isis-local-greens-candidates-hope-to-inspire-local-revolution/news-story/679213895c42e6c04fa8f02f47b0bfd3
@Nimalan,
From all accounts and what has been spoken of Sazeda Ackter was a very weak local representative. Clr Ackter was criticised for rarely attending meetings didnt raise any issues and proved to be a very poor choice to represent Canterbury ward.
Mohammad Zaman was not endorsed in 2021 because he was a failed Bankrupt according to news reports and it would of dettered him from the nomination process.
Zamans and the Labors El Hayek posters have taken precedence along many roads around Bankstown and Punchbowl
It beggars belief why the Liberal party would endorse such weak candidates
EDIT : Ackter was a councillor for Roselands Ward
Does anyone have thoughts on how Karl Asfour will go in Bankstown Ward this election after his expenses and corruption ICAC mess ?
The ex mayors NSW parliamentary enquiry and ICAC referral for his links to eddie Obeid , the allegations of favouring certain Developers and his expenses rorts including his MBA at ratepayers expense ,His Japanese spa bubble bath with Alcohol and his tickets to an American base ball game certainly ripped his credibility apart.
Its must be infuriating that residents council rates paid for His legal representation by Sydney barrister Arthur Moses SC
Premier Chris Minns favoured Karl Asfour and elevated him to the upper house ticket before he ( *cough) stepped down for the sake of the party before teh election.
C#NTWard please go to link and read the “truth” stop being a complete flog and spreading lies:
Note Extract from letter: “In summary, the information before the Commission does not sufficiently support a reasonable likelihood that corrupt conduct, warranting investigation by the Commission”
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/other/18328/Letter%20from%20the%20Hon%20Paul%20Lakatos%20SC%20Commissioner,%20ICAC.pdf
Agree YL Machinist, many of these allegations are often broadcast as ‘sensationalist’ stories in the media when most of the time it is usually just a lapse of judgement by the individuals concerned (see also the minor scandal involving Barry O’Farrell with the wine gift and also Gladys Berejiklian’s close links to disgraced former MP Darryl Maguire.
@ Cantward,
Usually the Libs have little interest in an area like this except for the East Hills part as that is a Liberal friendly area, in places like Lakemba they will happily run any clown. In most of the LGA there is no long term future for Libs except in the East Hills part i mentioned as demographics make it harder and ethnic based politics increasingly dominiate such seats.
Wouldn’t be so sure if Wendy Lindsay will win the Revesby seat… she is becoming unpopular in the East Hills district for not doing much for the community during her time as State MP for East Hills.
It was not a good look for Wendy when everyone got a leaflet saying our much-requested new school bus route was open within ONE month of Kylie winning East Hills. The community had been asking for AGES for that which Wendy didn’t do in her whole 2019-2023 term.
I have met Wendy in real life and she is not as genuine as Coleman. Yes the seat is gentrifying but she is starting to get a bad rep as a do nothing pollie.
YL_Machinist . The facts speak for themselves. Residents and ratepayers have had to pay for the defence of a Mayor that has once again been endorsed by Labor. You can’t make this stuff up. Your personal comments trying to disprove facts proves my point that Nobody does hate and division better than the Labor and the Greens. It’s laughable and pathetic really and people see past that.
Revesby ward is normally slightly more liberal than East Hills. But this is a different contest . Wendy Lindsay as no 1 on the liberal ticket will elected. However the issue is whether Labor retain their second councillor in that ward. I am hopeful that this will be the case.
Re the nsw upper house inquiry into . Bankstown council..this was a stunt to try and discredit Labor aided and abetted by onp and their sole upper house mp. The ICAC letter clearly states no corruption in terms of the quoted development… expenditure within the councils expenditure policy or minor
Matters such as use of the council letter head.. The ICAC is an independent. Body..which makes it’s own decisions one may not be happy with its decisions but that’s life. I asked ICAC to investigate one of the witnesses at the “Barilaro ” inquiry but they refused to do so
Mick. I honestly never thought of you as a conspiracy theorist
Perhaps I need to post the video of the Boozy trips for former mayor caught on video.
Remember his Broken Hill Junket?
Please don’t dismiss the severity of a dodgy councillor. It reflects badly on you and every resident who lives in C/B
I know you wholeheartedly support Labor and all credit to you. Youre Loyal.
But Dont try and con others to your way of thinking because the truth stings and when he is just plainly wrong for the area.
Asfour takes the area for granted. He is all that is wrong with the Labor party and the fact that you try and defend a serious investigation which was referred to ICAC as a conspiracy says it all.
The upper house inquiry was not credible read the.
Minutes or look at the video of it Mark Latham ‘s role was disgusting …he was at that time still a member of onp and had recruited Tania to join. This was I repeat a stunt aimed at discrediting. Labor. If this was serious why didn’t the department of Local government investigate.. I asked this question of wendy Tuckerman the relevant minister but received no reply.
.
@ Nimalan. You’re spot on regarding Roselands. The question is why do the Liberals, and Labor continually put up such pathetic low grade candidates?
A conservative candidate should be a perfect fit with the Islamic community.
Labor and Greens are virtually the same in the radical left policy mix.
I’m anticipating a greens /Labor merge a colour nasty Brown would match their policies and engagement
Wendy Lindsay is using this council election as a springboard for higher aspirations. I think it may be a redemption tilt. Kylie Wilkinson will have some competition which is better for the electorate.
Marginal seats are always pandered to. Labor have the tradition of being obscenely smug and take the areas they represent for granted
A question where is what I said false? I have given my opinion based on watching the video of the upper house hearing and the actual ICAC response
.
@Mick The Ministers for local government are there just in Name. They really do not want complications in their portfolio,
That said, Ron Hoenig is by far the worst, most dishonest, inept Minister of Local Government in labor’s political history. He attacked Liverpool for Dysfunction because of the marginal makeup.
Hoenig LIED and backflipped on the promised demerger for councils and I believe This will end up costing Minns in the next election.
If Hoenig was serious about dysfunction and corruption he should look at Canterbury Bankstown council with the majority Labor councillors and a clearly dodgy ex mayor. He won’t because it’s Minns Labor baby.
My sums from electoral commission Website
Alp 7 to 8 probably 8
Hard to analyse because of
High informal vote listed. This is a to be sorted pile and the actual informal vote will be lower
Labor went backwards. Lots of people mistook the resentment in the community. They threw everything at this vote, yet, like always they arrogantly take the area and residents for granted.
This theme is going to flow on to Tony Burke federally.
I hope I’m wrong but I think this has to be a record for the highest informal vote in its History thanks to the quality of candidates.
The Liberal party fail will hurt them in the future in the LGA in the new candidates actually engage.
I’m thinking it will be 8 ALP with the one Green who has the same Idea on a BDS and this means Labor will still retain the majority in council
There is not a 25 to 30% informal vote. The votes counted are only the above the line votes . Stuff in the informal and other box need to be looked at carefully… there will be lots of formal votes there that need to be counted