This was the first election for the council since September 2017, after it was placed into administration on 30 October 2020, missed the local elections in December 2021 and was eventually dismissed on 17 March 2022.
Background
Central Coast Council covers the entire Central Coast region, which has a population of 346,596 as of 2021. This makes it the third-most-populated LGA in New South Wales, behind only Blacktown and Canterbury-Bankstown.[1]
The council was formed on 12 May 2016 as a "super council" after the state government merged the City of Gosford and Wyong Shire.[2] It is composed of five wards, each electing three councillors, totalling 15 councillors for the entire LGA.
2017 election
A map of the five wards showing the 2017 election results
At the 2017 election, the Labor Party won a plurality with six seats and 30.2% of the vote. Three independents, two members of the "Central Coast NEW Independents" group and four Liberals were also elected.[3]
Administration and dismissal
In October 2020, it was revealed that the council was unable to pay 2,000 staff, and the council had a debt of $89 million.[4] On 26 October 2020, Liberal councillors Rebecca Gale-Collins and Troy Marquart resigned, stating they sought to "differentiat[e] themselves from those councillors wishing to show due cause to the minister as to why they should remain in local government".[5]
On 30 October 2020, then-local government minister Shelley Hancock announced the immediate suspension of the council and the appointment of former senior public servant Dick Persson as the new interim administrator.[6] At the commencement of the administration period, debt has reached just under $350 million.[7][8]
Persson was succeeded as administrator by former acting CEO Rik Hart on 13 May 2021.[9] As a result of being in administration, no election took place for Central Coast in 2021.[10]
On 17 March 2022, the state government formally dismissed the council after a report on its financial management was tabled in the New South Wales parliament.[11] Although there were initially plans to hold a new election in September 2022, these did not eventuate.[12][13]
All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation.[15] Central Coast has an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting.[16] The council is divided into five wards, each electing three councillors.[17][18]
Voting is compulsory for anyone on the New South Wales state electoral roll.[19] Property owners, rate-paying occupiers or lessees can apply to be on the "non-residential roll" in an LGA, as long as they are not already enrolled as a resident in that area and if they are eligible to be enrolled for state and federal elections.[20] Voting is not compulsory for those on non-residential rolls, although it is still compulsory in the LGA where they are on the residential roll.[21]
Candidates
A total of 77 candidates contested the election.[22]
Belinda Neal, a former federal MP and senator, led Labor and contested Gosford West.[23]
Former Gosford mayor Lawrie McKinna led "Team Central Coast", which had candidates in every ward.[24] Two of the group's candidates, Matt Simon (Gosford East) and Mark Ella (The Entrance), withdrew in early August and were replaced by George Paterson and Sharryn Brownlee respectively.[25] McKinna contested Gosford East, with former Liberal MP Pat Farmer running in second place on the ticket.[26][27]
The Greens announced former Wyong councillor Sue Wynn as their lead candidate for Budgewoi on 7 July 2024, the only ward the party is contesting.[28][29]
In Gosford East, the Liberal Party had two candidates, instead of three, after missing the candidate nomination deadline.[30] The Liberals did also not endorse in Budgewoi, where former Wyong mayor Douglas Eaton led an Independent Liberal ticket.[31][32]
Central Coast NEW Independents, Ratepayers Choice Central Coast and Coasties Who Care all had one group each.[33][34][35]
Had the 2021 election gone ahead for the Central Coast, the electorate were to be asked whether the council should be reduced in size from 15 to nine councillors, and the wards reduced from five to three. With the postponement of the 2021 elections due to the administration of Council, the referendum was pushed back to the next election.[38]
In 2024, voters were asked whether the Council should reduce the amount of councillors from 15 to nine, reducing the wards from five to three, and thus each ward electing three councillors each. The referendum passed by a majority of 47,621, and as local government referendums are legally binding, the Council must implement these changes for the 2028 elections.
Do you favour a reduction in the number of Central Coast Councillors from 15 to 9 and a reduction in the number of wards from 5 to 3, with each ward electing 3 councillors?
↑ "Labor team ready to stand". Coast Community News. 22 August 2024. Archived from the original on 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024. Former Federal MP and Senator Belinda Neal will lead a 15-person ticket for the Labor Party in the September 14 Central Coast Council election.
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