Council voting underway, police called to Neutral Bay School booth

14 September 2024

by Grahame Lynch

Voting is underway in North Sydney Council elections as part of a statewide local government poll.|

Queues formed early this morning as electors sought to take advantage of an unusually sunny day to get their vote out of the way early.

North Sydney electors are voting for five councillors in each of two wards.

As widely reported, the Liberals failed to submit their nominations on time for the St Leonards ward and are only contesting the Cammeraygal ward.

Just four tickets are contesting the five councillor positions in St Leonards: the ruling Real Independents, Labor, the Sustainable Australia Party, and independent James Spenceley. The main point of interest here is which ticket will poll the most votes, earning a second councillor position.

The Cammeraygal ward is more competitive, with seven tickets vying for the five councillor positions. Incumbents The Real Independents, Labor, Team Jilly (with a new head, Pallavi Sinha), Community 1st (also with a new head, Peter Noble), and the Sustainable Australia Party will compete against newcomers, the Greens and the Liberals.

Zoe Baker of the Real Independents has indicated she will stand for mayor again if returned.

North Sydney Council no longer elects a mayor directly; instead, the ten elected councillors will vote among themselves to elect a mayor and a deputy mayor at their first meeting.

The outgoing council was characterised by a consistent voting pattern where the two Real Independent, two Labor, and two Sustainable Australia Party councillors generally agreed on over 90% of contested votes.

Challenger candidates such as James Spenceley, Peter Noble and Pallavi Sinha urge voters to break this nexus and elect a more diverse council in the coming term.

Liberal lead candidate Jessica Keen in Cammeraygal ward is benefiting from the support of former federal MP Trent Zimmerman and state MP Felicity Wilson, who have been active on booths today.

The Real Independents have been heavily touting the endorsement of federal MP Kylea Tink.

There was an incident at Neutral Bay Public School today when former mayor Jilly Gibson, campaigning for Sinha, said she had been physically intimidated and touched by a man wearing a Real Independents shirt. Police were called and it is understood the man left shortly afterwards.

Polls close at 6. Although a count tonight should be conclusive enough to see eight or nine candidates elected, counting for the last position in Cammeraygal will likely go to preferences and may take several days.