2024 Byron Shire Council election

2024 Byron Shire Council election

← 2021 14 September 2024 2028 →
All 9 seats on Byron Shire Council 5 seats needed for a majority
Registered	27,485 [1]
Mayor
Turnout	71.4%
First party Second party   Candidate Sarah Ndiaye Asren Pugh Party Greens Labor Primary  vote 6,522 5,666 Percentage 34.7% 30.1% Swing 20.0 18.5 TCP 51.8% 48.2% TCP swing 51.8 48.2
Mayor before election Michael Lyon Byron Independents Elected Mayor Sarah Ndiaye Greens
Councillors
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– Greens Sarah Ndiaye 36.7 3 +1 Labor Asren Pugh 27.1 2 +1 Compass David Warth 13.6 1 +1 Byron Inds Michael Lyon 13.6 1 −1 Bright Future Jack Dods 9.6 1 +1 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The 2024 Byron Shire Council election was held on 14 September 2024 to elect eight councillors and the mayor of Byron Shire. The election was held as part of the statewide local government elections in New South Wales, Australia. ^[2]

Incumbent mayor Michael Lyon sought re-election to a second term but was defeated, placing 4th by first preference votes. He retained his council seat, which he has held since 2016. ^[3]

Background

Three weeks before the election, incumbent mayor Michael Lyon was charged with assault and stalking after an alleged domestic violence incident. ^[4] Lyon secured an interim suppression order to stop the media reporting on the case on August 19, on the basis that publicity could harm the alleged victim, but he failed to secure a permanent suppression order in Tweed Heads Local Court in late August after objections from the Sydney Morning Herald and other media outlets. ^[5]

Following the charges, Mark Swivel and Meredith Wray withdrew as candidates for Lyon's "Byron Independents" group. ^[6] Swivel joined the Labor Party, while Wray joined the "Bright Future Byron" group. ^{[7] [5]}

Electoral system

Like in all other New South Wales local government areas, Byron Shire Council elections use optional preferential voting. Under this system, voters are only required to vote for one candidate or group, although they can choose to preference other candidates. ^[8]

All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation. ^[9] Sydney is an undivided council and uses an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting. ^[10]

Voting is compulsory for anyone on the New South Wales state electoral roll. ^[11]

Candidates

Mayoral candidates

Candidates are listed in the order they appeared on the ballot.

Party		Candidate	Background
	Byron Shire Compass	David Warth	Filmmaker
	Greens	Sarah Ndiaye	Byron deputy mayor since 2022
	Labor	Asren Pugh	Byron councillor since 2021
	Byron Independents	Michael Lyon	Byron mayor since 2021

Councillor candidates

Labor (Group A)	Byron Shire Compass (Group B)	Byron Independents (Group C)
Asren Pugh Janet Swain Mark Swivel Peter Doherty Diana James Linda Watson	David Warth Susie Figgis Nyck Jeanes Trisha Gizas-Barker	Michael Lyon Max Foggon Rhett Holt Jeannette Martin
Greens (Group D)	Bright Future Byron (Group D)	Ungrouped
Sarah Ndiaye Elia Hauge Delta Kay Michelle Lowe Nell Schofield	Jack Dods David Michie Meredith Wray Niamh Dove	Lucy Vader

Results

Mayoral results

2024 Byron Shire Council election: Mayor ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Greens	Sarah Ndiaye	6,522	34.7	+20.0
	Labor	Asren Pugh	5,666	30.1	+18.5
	Byron Shire Compass	David Warth	3,481	18.5	+18.5
	Byron Independents	Michael Lyon	3,128	16.6	−7.1
Total formal votes			18,797	95.7
Informal votes			839	4.3
Turnout			19,636	71.4
Two-candidate-preferred result
	Greens	Sarah Ndiaye	7,582	51.8	+51.8
	Labor	Asren Pugh	7,051	48.2	+48.2
	Greens gain from Byron Independents

Councillor results

2024 Byron Shire Council election ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Greens	1. Sarah Ndiaye 2. Elia Hauge (elected 1) 3. Delta Kay (elected 5) 4. Michelle Lowe (elected 7) 5. Nell Schofield	6,772	36.7	+15.2
	Labor	1. Asren Pugh (elected 2) 2. Janet Swain (elected 6) 3. Mark Swivel 4. Peter Doherty 5. Diana James 6. Linda Watson	5,001	27.1	+13.7
	Byron Shire Compass	1. David Warth (elected 3) 2. Susie Figgis 3. Nyck Jeanes 4. Trisha Gizas-Barker	2,503	13.6	+13.6
	Byron Independents	1. Michael Lyon (elected 4) 2. Max Foggon 3. Rhett Holt 4. Jeannette Martin	2,161	11.7	−8.8
	Bright Future Byron	1. Jack Dods (elected 8) 2. David Michie 3. Meredith Wray 4. Niamh Dove	1,765	9.6	+9.6
	Independent	Lucy Vader	240	1.3	+1.3
Total formal votes			18,442	94.0
Informal votes			1,181	6.0
Turnout			19,623	71.4

References

1. "Report on the administration of the 2024 NSW Local Government elections (Part 2)" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 14 March 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
2. "Council Elections".
3. "Former Byron mayor retains council seat despite facing domestic assault charges". ABC News. 1 October 2024.
4. Naylor, Catherine (8 August 2024). "Byron mayor charged with assault after alleged domestic incident". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 31 August 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
5. Naylor, Catherine (30 August 2024). "Trouble in paradise: The 24 hours that left Byron mayor's election campaign in disarray". The Sydney Morning Herald.
6. "Byron Independents candidates withdraw after mayor charged with assault and stalking". Local Elections Australia. 6 News Australia. 8 August 2024. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
7. "Swivel turns to Labor in Byron electoral battle with The Greens". The Echo. 12 August 2024. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
8. "How votes are counted in a local government election". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
9. "The many party systems of NSW councils". The Tally Room. 29 October 2021. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
10. "NSW Local Government Elections Website". Antony Green's Election Blog. 22 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
11. Christie, Chloe (13 September 2024). "NSW, it's compulsory to vote this weekend". The Daily Aus. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
12. "Byron - First Preference Votes for each Candidate - Check Count Complete". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
13. "Byron - Distribution of Preferences". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
14. "Byron - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". New South Wales Electoral Commission. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
15. "Sarah Ndiaye". Greens on Council. Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
16. "Byron Shire Compass Team". byronshirecompassteam.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
17. "Byron Independents". byronindependents.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
18. "BRIGHT FUTURE BYRON 2024". brightfuturebyron.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
19. "Here's our how to vote guide". Facebook. Bright Future Byron - Independents for Byron Shire. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.