Georges River covers parts of southern Sydney on the north side of the Georges River. The council is bordered to the west by Salt Pan Creek, by Broad Arrow Road and the M5 to the north, and by Kingsgrove Road, Croydon Road, the Princes Highway and Rocky Point Road to the east.
The council covers the suburbs of Blakehurst, Kogarah, Hurstville, Connells Point, Allawah, Penshurst, Oatley, Mortdale, Peakhurst, Lugarno, Beverly Hills and Riverwood. The council has a population of about 153,000 as of 2022.
- Wards
- Redistribution
- Incumbent councillors
- History
- Council control
- Candidate summary
- Assessment
- 2021 results
- Vote breakdown by ward
- Results maps
Wards
Georges River is divided into five wards, with each ward electing three councillors.
Hurstville ward covers northern parts of the council, including Beverly Hills and Kingsgrove.
Peakhurst ward covers the western end of the council, including Lugarno, Peakhurst and Riverwood.
Mortdale ward covers north-western parts of the council, including Mortdale and Penshurst.
Blakehurst ward covers south-eastern parts of the council close to the river, including Blakehurst, Oatley, Connells Point and Hurstville Grove.
Kogarah Bay ward covers the eastern end of the council, including Allawah, Kogarah Bay and Kogarah.
| Blakehurst | Sam Elmir (Ind)1 | Kathryn Landsberry (Lab) | Natalie Mort (GRRRP) |
| Hurstville | Nancy Liu (Liberal) | Colleen Symington (Lab) | Ben Wang (Ind) |
| Kogarah Bay | Elise Borg (GRRRP) | Nick Katris (Labor) | Sam Stratikopoulos (Liberal) |
| Mortdale | Christina Jamieson (GRRRP) | Nick Smerdely (Ind)2 | Ashvini Ambihaipahar (Labor)3 |
| Peakhurst | Veronica Ficarra (Labor)4 | Lou Konjarski (Liberal) | Peter Mahoney (GRRRP) |
1Sam Elmir was expelled from the Liberal Party in December 2022.
2Nick Smerdely was expelled from the Liberal Party in December 2022.
3Ashvini Ambihaipahar won a countback on 21 September 2022 after the resignation of Warren Tegg.
4Veronica Ficarra won a countback on 16 November 2022 after the resignation of Kevin Greene.
History
Georges River Council was created out of a merger of Hurstville and Kogarah 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.
Labor was dominant in Hurstville until 2012, although they did not hold a majority. The Liberal Party won the mayoralty after the 2012 election, but the party blocs broke down on the council during that term.
Liberal and Labor generally shared power in Kogarah from 2004 to 2012, but after 2012 the Liberal Party held half the seats and generally had a working majority.
Both councils was merged to form Georges River Council in 2016.
The 2017 election produced a council with six Labor councillors, five Liberals and four independents, including a member of the Kogarah Residents’ Association.
Labor’s Kevin Greene held the mayoralty for the entire 2017-2021 term, but the deputy mayoralty switched between Labor and Liberal.
The 2021 election saw an almost even three-way split on the council. Labor and Liberal each won five seats, with the new Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party (GRRRP) winning four seats, along with one other independent.
Following the election, the council elected a Labor team of Nick Katris as mayor and Kathryn Landsberry as deputy mayor. This arrangement received the support of the GRRRP and the independent. This lasted for two years, but in September 2023 the GRRRP (along with the Liberals) supported ex-Liberal Sam Elmir for mayor, with GRRRP’s Elise Borg taking the deputy mayoralty.
Council control
The council is split between three blocs of almost equal size: five Labor, five Liberals or ex-Liberals (who seem to still work together) and four GRRRP members. As long as these blocs remain cohesive, any two of them can work together to control the council. For the first two years, Labor and GRRRP were working together, but as of September 2023 it was a Liberal-GRRRP alliance.
Candidate summary
Labor and the Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party are both running candidates in all wards. The Liberal Party is running in three wards.
The Kogarah Residents Association and Libertarian Party are both running for the Kogarah Bay ward. Independent councillor Ben Wang is running for re-election in Hurstville ward.
It’s worth noting that, in the Mortdale and Peakhurst wards, only Labor and GRRRP have above-the-line boxes.
The full candidate list is at the end of this guide.
Assessment
I expected Georges River to produce a mostly status quo result, with Labor and Liberal each winning one seat in each ward, and GRRRP winning in the four wards they hold.
With the Liberal Party failing to turn up in Mortdale and Peakhurst, those two seats will almost certainly go to one of the other two parties. Labor starts out with a much higher primary vote than GRRRP, but the seats will largely be decided by where orphaned Liberal voters move. Either way, Labor and GRRRP will likely end up as the two largest parties with a smaller Liberal rump sitting in the middle.
| Party | Votes | % | Swing | Seats won |
| Labor | 25,064 | 32.36 | -5.7 | 5 |
| Liberal | 22,459 | 29.00 | -4.6 | 5 |
| Georges River Residents and Ratepayers | 16,607 | 21.44 | +21.4 | 4 |
| Independents | 12,401 | 16.01 | -2.4 | 1 |
| Kogarah Residents Association | 919 | 1.19 | -3.4 | |
| Informal | 4,456 | 5.44 |
Vote breakdown by ward
The following table shows the vote in each ward.
Labor topped the primary vote, and topped the vote in four wards. Labor’s vote ranged from 24.6% in Blakehurst to 42.5% in Peakhurst.
The Liberal vote ranged from 23.2% in Kogarah Bay to 34.0% in Mortdale.
The Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party had a vote ranging from 10.9% in Hurstville to 26.5% in Blakehurst.
The vote for independents ranged from 1.1% in Peakhurst to 34.6% in Hurstville, where Ben Wang won.
| Ward | ALP % | LIB % | GRRR % | IND % |
| Blakehurst | 24.6 | 31.7 | 26.5 | 17.3 |
| Hurstville | 30.2 | 24.2 | 10.9 | 34.6 |
| Kogarah Bay | 29.5 | 23.2 | 23.3 | 18.2 |
| Mortdale | 35.0 | 34.0 | 21.1 | 10.0 |
| Peakhurst | 42.5 | 31.9 | 24.5 | 1.1 |
Election results at the 2021 Georges River Council election
Toggle between primary votes for Labor, the Liberal Party, the Georges River Residents and Ratepayers Party and independent candidates Lachlan McLean, Sandy Grekas and Ben Wang.
Candidates – Blakehurst Ward
- A – Labor
- Cr Kathryn Landsberry
- Anastasia Polites
- Sarina Foulstone
- B – Liberal
- Oliver Dimoski
- James Brown
- Elizabeth Taylor
- C – Georges River Residents and Ratepayers
- Cr Natalie Mort
- Nicole Hawick
- Mary Cassimatis
Candidates – Hurstville Ward
- A – Georges River Residents and Ratepayers
- Bob Jones
- Max Brightwell
- Rachel Zhang
- B – Independent
- Cr Ben Wang
- Rhanda Taouk
- Kamal Sigdel
- Jun Qi
- C – Liberal
- Cr Nancy Liu
- Rahul Nand
- Binjie Lu
- D – Labor
- Leon Pun
- Jenny Vu
- David Crewdson
Candidates – Kogarah Bay Ward
- A – Labor
- Thomas Gao
- Emilija Beljic
- Mike Warner
- B – Liberal
- Cr Sam Stratikopoulos
- Bingxing Sheng
- James Skibinski
- C – Kogarah Residents’ Association
- Leesha Payor
- Petra Herzog
- Vicki Poole
- D – Libertarian
- Vicky Nicodemou
- Sophia Constantine
- Sandra Bremner
- E – Georges River Residents and Ratepayers
- Cr Elise Borg
- Heidi Breeze
- Christopher Tofalakis
Candidates – Mortdale Ward
- A – Labor
- Cr Ash Ambihaipahar
- Tom Arthur
- Gerard Hayes
- B – Georges River Residents and Ratepayers
- Cr Christina Jamieson
- Alexandra Fleming
- Deborah Mackie
- Ungrouped
- Peter Eccleston
- Christian Stojkov
- Glen Stelzer
Candidates – Peakhurst Ward
- A – Labor
- Elaina Anzellotti
- Karno Gangopadhyay
- Peter Gayton
- B – Georges River Residents and Ratepayers
- Cr Peter Mahoney
- Matthew Allison
- Sonia Baxant
Thanks to the Liberal nomination mess-up, they’ll miss out on “free” seats in Peakhurst and Mortdale. There’s two parties now but three seats up for grabs. No independents or other minor parties are running here now nor were they at the last election.
These wards lying west of King Georges Road is also the rough location of both the federal seat of Banks and state seat of Oatley. Both local members have been reelected 3 times after winning historically Labor seats at the 2013 and 2011 landslides respectively.
Why Do Voters and Election Candidates continue to Suffer Georges River Council and Canterbury Bankstown Local Council ?
West Beverly Hills And South Narwee Are the Suburbs West Of King Georges Road , South Of The East Hills Train Railway Line, North Of Stoney Creek Road, and East Of Riverwood.
Are the West Beverly Hills And South Narwee Area in Mortdale Ward Georges River Council , Hurstville Ward Of Georges River Council ,or Roselands Ward Of Canterbury Bankstown Council?
Local Government Election Pamphlet Letter Boxing And “Real Estate” Type Election Signs of Local Election Candidates in the front yards of private properties prove beyond all doubts that No Voters, No Residents, and No Local Government Election Candidates actually know whether The West Beverly Hills & South Narwee Area is in Mortdale Ward Georges River Council , Hurstville Ward Of Georges River Council ,or Roselands Ward Of Canterbury Bankstown Council.
Is the West Beverly Hills And South Narwee Area in Mortdale Ward Georges River Council , Hurstville Ward Of Georges River Council ,or Roselands Ward Of Canterbury Bankstown Council?
Which Local Government Election Ward Are West Beverly Hills And South Narwee in? Is it Mortdale Ward Georges River Council , Hurstville Ward Of Georges River Council ,or Roselands Ward Of Canterbury Bankstown Council?
Not one resident knows what local Government election ward that this area is in. Not even the Local Government Election Candidates know which area That West Beverly Hills And South Narwee belong to.
@jane ring nsw electoral commission re yr inquiry
NSWEC has a lookup tool. Key in your address and your ward and council will pop up.
The boundaries are badly drawn leaving residents between the railway line and Broadarrow Road in Narwee cut off from the rest of CBC. They have to enter GRC first so they can enter the rest of CBC.
Votante, another example of a ‘bad’ boundary is the Parramatta-Hornsby council interface that divides Epping and North Epping.
North Epping as a suburb is part of Hornsby Shire, but you have to enter Parramatta council first before you can travel to other parts of the same council area by road. The only way to access other parts of Hornsby shire without entering other council areas is on foot using one of the walking tracks that run through Lane Cove National Park.