2024 Hawkesbury City Council election

2024 Hawkesbury City Council election

←  2021 14 September 2024 2028 →
All 12 seats on Hawkesbury City Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Registered	50,010 [1]
Turnout	84.3%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sarah McMahon Mary Lyons-Buckett Shane Djuric Party Liberal People Not Parties Shooters Last election 4 seats 1 seat 1 seat Seats before 4 1 1 Seats won 4 2 1 Seat change 1 Primary  vote 10,997 4,879 4,529 Percentage 27.3% 12.1% 11.2% Swing 7.1 2.4 4.1   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Amanda Kotlash Danielle Wheeler Eddie Dogramaci Party Labor Greens Small Business Last election 2 seats 1 seat 1 seat Seats before 2 1 1 Seats won 1 1 1 Seat change 1 Primary  vote 4,337 3,930 3,474 Percentage 10.7% 9.7% 8.6% Swing 1.4 2.6 4.0

The 2024 Hawkesbury City Council election was held on 14 September 2024 to elect twelve councillors to the City of Hawkesbury. ^[2] The election was held as part of the statewide local government elections in New South Wales. ^[3]

The Liberal Party retained the four seats it held prior to the election despite a 7.1% decrease in its vote. ^[4] People Not Parties doubled its seats to two, while two independents from separate groups were also elected. ^[5] The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, the Labor Party, the Greens and the Small Business Party all won one seat each. ^[5]

Background

In September 2023, councillor Nathan Zamprogno was expelled from the Liberal Party. ^[6] He was elected in 2016 on the Liberal ticket but recontested his seat without party endorsement in 2021. ^[7]

Electoral system

Like in all other New South Wales local government areas (LGAs), Hawkesbury City Council elections use optional preferential voting. ^[8] Under this system, voters are only required to vote for one candidate or group, although they can choose to preference other candidates. ^[9]

All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation. ^[10] Hawkesbury has an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting. ^[11] The council is composed of a single ward. ^[2]

The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC). ^{[12] [13]}

Retiring councillors

Labor

• Barry Calvert ^[2]

Liberal

• Patrick Conolly – announced 29 March 2024 ^[14]

Candidates

Former Labor MP Chris Haviland, who served as the member for Macarthur in the House of Representatives from 1993 until 1996, sought preselection to replace Barry Calvert as Labor's lead candidate but was unsuccessful and received the fifth position on the party's ticket. ^[15]

This was the only council contested by The Small Business Party in 2024. ^{[16] [17]}

Greens (Group A)	People Not Parties (Group B)	Labor (Group C)	Independent (Group D)	Hawkesbury's Future (Group E)
Danielle Wheeler Allister Claasz Matilda Julian Debbie Paton Brian Crowther Karen Kobier	Mary Lyons-Buckett [18] Thomas Aczel Emma-Jane Garrow Peter Ryan Stacy O'Toole Richie Benson Kayte Murphy Tara Vigouroux	Amanda Kotlash Wendy Davies Simon Griffin Anita Artlett Chris Haviland Roger Pyke	Les Sheather Andrew Cadman Kris Waters Gerard Hodgskin Dave Coaldrake Michelle Tapara	Bob Gribbin [19] Melissa Crane [20] Lynette Brand Wendy Campbell Elise Smith Anton Raunjak
Shooters (Group F)	Independent (Group G)	Independent (Group H)	Liberal (Group I)	Small Business (Group J)
Shane Djuric [21] Bradley McGregor Brooke Djuric Stephanie Hill Keith Levy Gae Kelly	Angela Maguire Meera Webster Melanie Carr James Cleaver Kirsten Radnuz John Maguire	Nathan Zamprogno Donna Pellew David Ball Philip Price Joel Baltaks Jessica Dickinson	Sarah McMahon Mike Creed Jill Reardon Paul Veigel Warwick Mackay Natasha Bennett	Eddie Dogramaci [22] Rodney Galea Peter Muscat Hanif Bismi Thomas Chiarelli Esma Dogramaci

Campaign

During the campaign, corflutes for Small Business Party councillor Eddie Dogramaci were torched, torn and doused in acid. ^[23]

Results

2024 Hawkesbury City Council election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	1. Sarah McMahon (elected 1) 2. Mike Creed (elected 8) 3. Jill Reardon (elected 9) 4. Paul Veigel (elected 12) 5. Warwick Mackay 6. Natasha Bennett	10,997	27.3	−7.1
	People Not Parties	1. Mary Lyons-Buckett (elected 3) 2. Thomas Aczel (elected 10) 3. Emma-Jane Garrow 4. Peter Ryan 5. Stacy O'Toole 6. Richie Benson 7. Kayte Murphy 8. Tara Vigouroux	4,879	12.1	+2.4
	Independent	1. Nathan Zamprogno (elected 2) 2. Donna Pellew 3. David Ball 4. Philip Price 5. Joel Baltaks 6. Jessica Dickinson	4,809	11.9	+2.4
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers	1. Shane Djuric (elected 4) 2. Bradley McGregor 3. Brooke Djuric 4. Stephanie Hill 5. Keith Levy 6. Gae Kelly	4,529	11.2	+4.1
	Labor	1. Amanda Kotlash (elected 5) 2. Wendy Davies 3. Simon Griffin 4. Anita Artlett 5. Chris Haviland 6. Roger Pyke	4,337	10.7	−1.4
	Greens	1. Danielle Wheeler (elected 6) 2. Allister Claasz 3. Matilda Julian 4. Debbie Paton 5. Brian Crowther 6. Karen Kobier	3,930	9.7	+2.6
	Small Business	1. Eddie Dogramaci (elected 7) 2. Rodney Galea 3. Peter Muscat 4. Hanif Bismi 5. Thomas Chiarelli 6. Esma Dogramaci	3,474	8.6	+4.0
	Independent	1. Les Sheather (elected 11) 2. Andrew Cadman 3. Kris Waters 4. Gerard Hodgskin 5. Dave Coaldrake 6. Michelle Tapara	1,692	4.2	−3.2
	Independent	1. Angela Maguire 2. Meera Webster 3. Melanie Carr 4. James Cleaver 5. Kirsten Radnuz 6. John Maguire	916	2.3	+2.3
	Hawkesbury's Future	1. Bob Gribbin 2. Melissa Crane 3. Lynette Brand 4. Wendy Campbell 5. Elise Smith 6. Anton Raunjak	785	2.0	+2.0
Total formal votes			40,348	93.5
Informal votes			2,808	6.5
Turnout			43,156	86.3

Results summary

2024 Hawkesbury City Council election: Results summary

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Liberal		10,997	27.3	−7.1	4
	Independents		7,417	18.4		2
	People Not Parties		4,879	12.1	+2.4	2	1
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers		4,529	11.2	+4.1	1
	Labor		4,337	10.7	−1.4	1	1
	Greens		3,930	9.7	+2.6	1
	Small Business		3,474	8.6	+4.0	1
	Hawkesbury's Future		785	2.0	+2.0	0
Formal votes			40,348	93.5
Informal votes			2,808	6.5
Total			43,156	100.0		12
Registered voters / turnout			50,010	86.3

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. "Local Govt Elections 2024". Hills To Hawkesbury Community News. 15 August 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
3. Segaert, Anthony (12 September 2024). "Everything you need to know about local council elections". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 November 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
4. "Hawkesbury Council Election Results: Initial Outcomes Visions for our Future". Bilpin District Community News. 16 September 2024. Archived from the original on 20 December 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
5. "2024 Local Government Elections Brief" (PDF). Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue. 1 October 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 March 2025. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
6. "Upon leaving the Liberal Party". Councillor Nathan Zamprogno. 5 September 2023. Archived from the original on 11 August 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
7. "Council Elections – who's standing and who isn't – current councillors". Hawkesbury Post. 3 November 2021. Archived from the original on 8 November 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
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. Strong, Lynne (20 August 2024). "How the preference system works in NSW Local Government Elections". The Bugle News. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
10. Raue, Ben (29 October 2021). "The many party systems of NSW councils". The Tally Room. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
11. "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.
12. Ibrahim, Tony (1 September 2024). "Why Fairfield and Liverpool are the only councils in New South Wales to use a private contractor for their elections". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
13. Maddison, Max (20 September 2024). "'A Labor Party hit job': Fury at move to outlaw private companies running council elections". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
14. "Former Mayor Conolly to Walk Away from Council". Hawkesbury Post. 29 March 2024. Archived from the original on 3 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
15. "Hawkesbury City Council: What your candidates said". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 2024. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
16. Damo, Madeleine (28 August 2024). "Hawkesbury City Council: Meet the candidates battling for positions". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 July 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
17. Raue, Ben (10 September 2024). "Where are small or local parties running for council in NSW?". The Tally Room. Archived from the original on 4 April 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
18. "How to vote GROUP B!!". Facebook. People Not Parties. 13 September 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
19. "Some time back I started an initiative and website called "Future of the Hawkesbury"". Facebook. Councillor Nathan Zamprogno. 11 September 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
20. "We're a fresh team, and this is our first time running for Council". Facebook. Hawkesbury's Future. 11 September 2024. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
21. "2024 NSW Local Government elections - SFF Candidates". Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. 6 September 2024. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 20 December 2025.
22. "THE COUNCIL YOU VOTE FOR, IS THE COUNCIL YOU DESERVE". The Small Business Party. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
23. Segaert, Anthony; Gorrey, Megan (30 August 2024). "Torched signs and a wacky website: Local council skulduggery rears its head". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2025.