6 September 2024
By Grahame Lynch
Campaigns are intensifying for the North Sydney Council election, with pre-polling beginning on 7 September and the main event taking place on 14 September. Approximately 50,000 residents and property owners are eligible to participate.
The North Sydney Council local government area is divided into two wards: St Leonards, covering the north and west of the electorate, and Cammeraygal, covering the south and east.
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.
This led to Zoe Baker being elected mayor with a 6-4 majority. The deputy mayor position alternated between Labor’s Godfrey Santer and the SAP’s William Bourke during the term.
This six-vote pattern broke down in recent months, with Bourke dissenting on an increasing number of motions. However, with the use of her mayoral casting vote, Baker was still able to prevail in occasional 5-5 stalemates.
With the Liberals failing to nominate in the St Leonards ward, the Real Independents and Labor are confident they will again prevail overall and have sufficient numbers to maintain their dominant influence after the election.
Pre-polling begins on Saturday, 7 September, pauses on Sunday, and then continues through the week leading up to the 14 September election day.
As last year, pre-polling will take place in two locations: North Sydney Council Chambers and Neutral Bay Junction, near May Gibbs Place.
On the actual polling day, voting locations include Anzac Park Public, North Sydney Boys, North Sydney Girls, North Sydney Demonstration School, Neutral Bay Public, Cammeray Public, Cammeraygal High, Naremburn Anglican Church, Waverton Uniting, and St Peter’s Anglican for the St Leonards Ward.
Cammeraygal ward voters can vote at Anzac Park Public, Cammeraygal High, Forsyth Park, McMahons Point Community Centre, Neutral Bay Public, Neutral Bay Uniting, North Sydney Boys, North Sydney Girls, North Sydney Demonstration School, St Aloysius’ Junior School, St Peter’s Anglican, and St Augustine’s.
In the last election, Team Jilly topped the vote not only in the Cammeraygal ward overall but also at the most trafficked booths: St Aloysius’ Junior School, McMahons Point Community Centre, and Neutral Bay Public. The retirement of Jilly Gibson and her replacement with Pallavi Sinha is likely to impact those voting patterns.
St Leonards Ward was less consistent last time. While Real Independent Zoe Baker topped most booths, Labor’s Godfrey Santer won at North Sydney Girls, and independent James Spenceley won at Anzac Park, highlighting the importance of the “ground game” on election day.
Approximately 20% of voters took the opportunity to vote early during the last election, and a similar trend is expected this time.
Generally, just under 3,000 votes are sufficient for a candidate to win election as a councillor.
The heavily contested Cammeraygal Ward is expected to come down to preferences, with no candidate guaranteed a full quota in what will likely be a very tight race.