14 August 2024
by Grahame Lynch
A stuff-up by the NSW Liberal state office may have just increased the chances of a centre-left majority on North Sydney Council for the next term.
The NSW Liberals have failed to meet an NSW Electoral Commission deadline to submit an endorsed ticket for St Leonards Ward, which was to have been led by local member Sophie Lambert. A ticket for the other ward, Cammeraygal, led by former councillor Jessica Keen, has been processed. As we went to press, it was unclear if the St Leonards Liberal nominations were still being processed by the EC or if they simply never made it in.
The NSW Liberal state office has acknowledged it failed to get some nominations in for 300 endorsed candidates across the state, citing limited secretariat resources. It has issued an apology to candidates who missed the nomination process and to the membership more broadly.
The snafu means tha there are just four tickets contesting the five councillor positions in St Leonards Ward: the Real Independents’ Zoe Baker, Labor’s Godfrey Santer (the current deputy mayor), the Sustainable Australia Party’s Michael Want (incumbent SAP councillor William Bourke has dropped down to the likely unelectable second position on his ticket) and independent incumbent councillor James Spenceley. With Baker topping the ward vote in 2021, she will be favoured to see her excess vote above quota pass to number two candidate, Chris Holding, helping him to gain election in the fifth and last spot: however her three rivals will also see an opportunity to pursue high excess quotas to advantage their own number twos.
There will a stronger contest in the Cammeraygal Ward where seven tickets are running for five councillor positions there. Incumbent councillors MaryAnn Beregi of the Real Independents and Shannon Welch of Labor head their tickets again.
Interestingly, the longest serving councillor and former mayor Jilly Gibson is stepping down and endorsing Pallavi Sinha, a lawyer, academic and media commentator.
Also stepping down to the number two position on another independent ticket is Ian Mutton, who will run with Peter Noble, a Milsons Point retired lawyer with a background in board directorships, corporate governance and food processing as lead. Noble has been particularly active in the campaigns around the Milsons Point bike ramp.
As mentioned, Jessica Keen is heading an official Liberal ticket while the Sustainable Australia Party and the Greens are also running tickets in the southern ward.
The SAP ticket is headed by Sarah Kok, who works in the energy industry and has apparently been active on Neutral Bay development issues. The Greens ticket is headed by Angus Hoy, a staffer for a Green MLC in state parliament.
In the current term, the two Labor councillors and the two Sustainable Australia party councillors combined to support the Real Independents’ Zoe Baker for mayor: together the six councillors from the three groups formed an effective bloc on many issues. With the Liberals failing to nominate a ticket in St Leonards Ward this time, the Real Independents have a genuine shot at adding a second councillor in that ward and adding to numbers. With the Real Independents now allied with Federal independent MP Zali Steggall, there could be ramifications down the track for the local Liberals.
North Sydney Sun understands that local Liberals and independent conservatives are apoplectic about the situation. It has already been widely picked up across Sydney media including on radio 2GB which is ridiculing the mistake (see below).
ST LEONARDS WARD TICKETS (5 councillors)
Real Independents headed by Zoe Baker
Labor headed by Godfrey Santer
Sustainable Australia Party headed by Michael Want
James Spenceley: independent
CAMMERAYGAL WARD TICKETS (5 councillors)
Team Jilly headed by Pallavi Sinha
Peter Noble ticket (Ian Mutton)
Sustainable Australia Party headed by Sarah Kok
Greens headed by Angus Hoy
Real Independents headed by MaryAnn Beregi
Labor headed by Shannon Welch
Liberals headed by Jessica Keen