Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections in Hunter

For results of mayoral elections, see 2021 New South Wales mayoral elections § Results.

Main article: Results of the 2021 New South Wales local elections

This is a list of results for the 2021 New South Wales local elections in the Hunter Region. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Cessnock

2021 Cessnock City Council election

←  2016 4 December 2021 2024  →
All 12 seats on Cessnock City Council [a] 7 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   OLS Leader Jay Suvaal Ian Olsen John Moores Party Labor Olsen Inds Liberal Last election 7 seats 1 seat 3 seats Seats before 7 1 3 Seats won 5 4 3 Seat change 2 3 First preference  vote 15,136 8,908 7,676 Percentage 42.5% 25.0 21.6% Swing 6.2 18.7 0.9
Largest party before election Labor Subsequent largest party Labor

Cessnock City Council is composed of four wards electing three councillors, each, as well as a directly-elected mayor. At the 2016 election, the Labor Party won a majority with seven councillors and the mayoralty. ^[5]

Although Labor still won the largest number of seats, the party lost its majority on council. ^[5] Incumbent B Ward councillor Ian Olsen's "Olsen Independents" group contested all four wards for the first time, winning one seat in each. ^{[6] [7] [8] [9]}

Cessnock results

2021 New South Wales local elections: Cessnock ^[5]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		15,136	42.5	−6.2	5	2
	Olsen Independents		8,908	25.0	+18.7	4	3
	Liberal		7,676	21.6	−0.9	3
	Greens		3,509	9.9	+2.8	0
	Independent		389	1.1		0	1
Formal votes			35,618	93.99
Informal votes			2,274	6.01
Total			37,892	100.00

A Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: A Ward ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Jay Suvaal 2. James Hawkins (elected) 3. Logan Templeton	3,273	35.7
	Olsen Independents	1. Jessica Jurd (elected) 2. Julianne Foster 3. Joshua Olsen	2,587	28.2
	Liberal	1. Paul Dunn (elected) 2. Kean Miles 3. Robyn Strengers	1,939	21.2
	Greens	1. Llynda Nairn 2. Elizabeth Hilton 3. Jane Mowatt	988	10.8
	Independent	Allan Stapleford	389	4.2
Total formal votes			9,176	92.8
Informal votes			713	7.2
Turnout				83.6

B Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: B Ward ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Anthony Burke (elected) 2. Jeffrey Crebert 3. Tallen Howson	3,146	39.9
	Olsen Independents	1. Ian Olsen (elected) 2. Luke Bozic 3. Tim Little	2,512	31.8
	Liberal	1. John Moores (elected) 2. Jacqueline LaFrance 3. Daniel Ebert	1,630	20.7
	Greens	1. Louise Ihlein 2. Vicki Heath 3. James Ryan	605	7.7
Total formal votes			7,893	94.1
Informal votes			495	5.9
Turnout				82.4

C Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: C Ward ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Anne-Marie Sander (elected) 2. Sophie Palmowski 3. Kim Smith	4,180	43.8
	Liberal	1. Karen Jackson (elected) 2. Robert Peace 3. John Fagg	2,375	24.9
	Olsen Independents	1. Daniel Watton (elected) 2. Leonie Allan 3. Eric Olsen	2,047	21.4
	Greens	1. Georgina Thompson 2. Penny Kelly 3. Denis Rothwell	950	9.9
Total formal votes			9,552	94.6
Informal votes			547	5.4
Turnout				83.2

D Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: D Ward ^[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Rosa Grine (elected) 2. Mitchell Hill (elected) 3. Gregory Tisdell	4,537	50.4
	Olsen Independents	1. Paul Paynter (elected) 2. Eliza Faustini 3. Adam Robinson	1,762	19.6
	Liberal	1. Harold Slade 2. Sharon Davson 3. Ruth Slade	1,732	19.3
	Greens	1. Janet Murray 2. Richard Clausen 3. Averil Drummond	966	10.7
Total formal votes			8,997	94.5
Informal votes			519	5.5
Turnout				84.5

Dungog

2021 New South Wales local elections: Dungog ^[10]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent		6,135	100.0		6
Formal votes			6,135	95.33
Informal votes			300	4.67
Total			6,435	100.0

A Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: A Ward ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Michael Dowling (elected)	828	41.7
	Independent	Michael Tobin (elected)	604	30.4
	Independent	Stephen "Sparrow" Farrow	291	14.6
	Independent	John Connors	264	13.3
Total formal votes			1,987	95.6
Informal votes			91	4.4
Turnout			2,078	87.4

B Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: B Ward ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Stephen Low (elected)	946	44.9
	Independent	Jessica Clark (elected)	754	35.8
	Independent	Alan Green	407	19.3
Total formal votes			2,107	95.7
Informal votes			94	4.3
Turnout			2,201	86.7

C Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: C Ward ^[10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Digby Rayward (elected)	965	47.3
	Independent	Bradley Bale (elected)	613	30.0
	Independent	Peter Millynn	463	22.7
Total formal votes			2,041	46.7
Informal votes			115	5.3
Turnout			2,156	85.7

Lake Macquarie

2021 New South Wales local elections: Lake Macquarie ^[11]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		50,340	39.2		6	1
	Liberal		33,078	25.7		3
	Lake Mac Independents		24,922	19.4		3
	Greens		12,571	9.8		0
	Independent		4,661	3.6		0
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers		29,80	2.3		0
Formal votes			128,552

East Ward

Elected councillor		Party
	Adam Shultz	Labor
	Nick Jones	Liberal
	Kate Warner	LMI
	Christine Buckley	Labor

2021 New South Wales mayoral elections: East Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor		17,397	41.8
	Liberal		10,997	26.4
	Lake Mac Independents		6,884	16.6
	Greens		3,675	8.8
	Independent (Group A)		2,438	5.9
	Independent	Alan Ellis	202	0.5
Total formal votes			41,593	94.7
Informal votes			2,311	5.3
Turnout			43,904	85.2

North Ward

Elected councillor		Party
	Brian Adamthwaite	Labor
	Jack Antcliff	Liberal
	Colin Grigg	LMI
	Keara Conroy	Labor

2021 New South Wales mayoral elections: North Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor		18,014	42.6
	Liberal		9,237	21.8
	Lake Mac Independents		6,485	15.3
	Greens		5,007	11.8
	Shooters, Fishers, Farmers		2,980	7.0
	Independent	Bryce Ham	593	1.4
Total formal votes			42,316	95.2
Informal votes			2,147	4.8
Turnout			44,463	85.5

West Ward

Elected councillor		Party
	David Belcher	Labor
	Jason Pauling	Liberal
	Luke Cubis	LMI
	Madeline Bishop	Labor

2021 New South Wales mayoral elections: West Ward

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor		14,929	33.4
	Liberal		12,844	28.8
	Lake Mac Independents		11,553	25.9
	Greens		3,889	8.7
	Independent	Rosmairi Dawson	1,428	3.2
Total formal votes			44,643	94.4
Informal votes			2,665	5.6
Turnout			47,308	82.0

• Incumbent councillor Wendy Harrison (Independent Lake Alliance) did not recontest

Maitland

2021 Maitland City Council election

←  2017 25 October 2021 2024  →
All 12 seats on Maitland City Council [b] 7 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	86.6% ( 2.4 pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Loretta Baker Philip Penfold Ben Mitchell Party Labor Penfold Inds Liberal Last election 4 seats 4 seats 4 seats Seats won 4 4 4 Primary  vote 19,983 14,963 12,329 Percentage 37.7% 28.3% 23.3%
Largest party before election Labor Subsequent largest party Penfold Independents

Maitland City Council is composed of four three-member wards, totalling 12 councillors, as well as a directly-elected mayor.

Maitland results

2021 New South Wales local elections: Maitland

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Labor		19,983	37.7		4
	Penfold Independents		14,963	28.3		4
	Liberal		12,329	23.3		4
	Greens		2,785	5.3		0
	Independents		2,901	5.5		0
Formal votes			52,961	94.6
Informal votes			3,008	5.4
Total			55,969	100.0		12
Registered Voters / turnout			64,601	86.6

Central Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: Central Ward ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Loretta Baker (elected) 2. Blake Mooney 3. Amelia Atkinson	5,013	38.3	+6.0
	Liberal	1. Sally Halliday (elected) 2. James Peters 3. Rod Doherty	3,341	25.5	+3.6
	Penfold Independents	1. Bill Hackney (elected) 2. Kevin Yarrington 3. Warrick Penfold	2,720	20.8	−0.3
	Greens	1. John Brown 2. Natalie Masterton 3. Susan Brown	1,682	12.9	+4.3
	Independent	Brian Burke	327	2.5	−13.6
Total formal votes			13,083	94.9
Informal votes			696	5.1
Turnout			13,779	85.8

East Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: East Ward ^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Ben Whiting (elected) 2. Peta Lindsay 3. Jackson Wheatland	5,360	43.2	+11.2
	Penfold Independents	1. Peter Garnham (elected) 2. Allen Garnham 3. Kathleen Barkley	3,544	28.6	−6.7
	Liberal	1. Kanchan Ranadive (elected) 2. John Yoole 3. Carol Doherty	3,148	25.4	+3.1
	Independent	Paul Johns	345	2.8	+2.8
Total formal votes			12,397	94.3
Informal votes			751	5.7
Turnout			13,148	86.6

North Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: North Ward ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Robert Aitchison (elected) 2. Michael Voorbij 3. Angela Harvey	4,623	31.3	−8.1
	Penfold Independents	1. Philip Penfold (elected mayor) 2. Mike Yarrington (elected) 3. Leonnie Carter	4,072	27.6	−8.0
	Liberal	1. Mitchell Griffin (elected) 2. Marilyn Philip 3. Selby Green	2,734	18.5	−5.5
	Greens	1. Campbell Knox 2. Lauren Arbuckle 3. Connor Jacobs	1,103	7.5	+7.5
	Independent	1. Michael Cooper 2. Chloe Ellenbacher 3. Timothy Cooper	1,826	12.4	−4.6
	Independent	Paul Hickey	222	1.5	+1.5
	Independent	Shahriar (Sean) Saffari	181	1.2	+1.2
Total formal votes			14,761	94.7
Informal votes			822	5.3
Turnout			15,583	88.4

West Ward

2021 New South Wales local elections: West Ward ^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor	1. Stephanie Fisher (elected) 2. Mary-Kate Ferguson 3. John Leao	4,987	39.2	−0.6
	Penfold Independents	1. Kristy Ferguson (elected) 2. Geoffrey Mayer 3. William Penfold	4,627	36.4	+9.2
	Liberal	1. Ben Mitchell (elected) 2. Suhas Ranadive 3. Valerie Yoole	3,106	24.4	+5.8
Total formal votes			12,720	94.5
Informal votes			739	5.5
Turnout			13,459	85.6

Port Stephens

Port Stephens results

2021 New South Wales local elections: Port Stephens ^[16]

Party			Votes	%	Swing	Seats	Change
	Independent		21,335	45.9	−36.7	4
	Labor		19,372	41.6	+24.2	4	3
	Liberal		4,255	9.1	+3.6 [c]	1	1
	Greens		1,565	3.4	+3.4	0
Formal votes			46,527	93.8
Informal votes			3,073	6.2
Turnout			49,600	86.1

Central

Elected councillor		Party
	Jason Wells	Labor
	Chris Doohan	Independent (Group B)
	Steve Tucker	Independent (Group A)

2021 New South Wales local elections: Central Ward ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent (Group B)		4,686	28.8
	Independent (Group A)		4,226	25.9
	Labor		5,618	34.5	+19.6
	Greens		1,565	9.6	+9.6
	Independent	Bill Doran	194	1.2
Total formal votes			16,289	92.7	+2.4
Informal votes			1,286	7.3	−2.4
Turnout			17,575	86.9	+1.6

East

Elected councillor		Party
	Leah Anderson	Labor
	Glen Dunkley	Independent
	Matthew Bailey	Liberal

2021 New South Wales local elections: East Ward ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor		5,850	39.5	+31.6
	Independent		4,708	31.8
	Liberal		4,255	28.7	+12.0
Total formal votes			14,813	95.7	+2.5
Informal votes			669	4.3	−2.5
Turnout			15,482	84.8	+0.9

West

Elected councillor		Party
	Arnott Giacomo	Labor
	Peter Francis	Labor
	Peter Kafer	Independent (Group A)

2021 New South Wales local elections: West Ward ^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labor		7,904	51.2	+22.7
	Independent (Group A)		6,608	42.8
	Independent	Danielle Le Mottee	266	1.7
	Independent	Monique Malone	239	1.5
	Independent	Christopher Baguley	209	1.4
	Independent	Andrew Dole	199	1.3
Total formal votes			15,425	93.4	+0.2
Informal votes			1,088	6.6	−0.2
Turnout			16,513	86.1	+2.2

• Incumbent councillor Paul Le Mottee (Independent Liberal) was unable to recontest due to a clerical error ^{[17] [18]}

Notes

1. Excluding the mayor, who is directly-elected.
2. Excluding the mayor, who is directly-elected.
3. Compared with the Independent Liberal result at the 2017 election.

References

1. "Registers of groups of candidates". New South Wales Electoral Commission.
2. "Local Government Register of Groups of Candidates" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2023.
3. "Local Government Register of Candidates - in Name order" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 December 2023.
4. "2021 NSW Local Government Elections". ABC News. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023.
5. "City of Cessnock". ABC News. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
6. "If you go to a polling booth and there is no one there handing out my "How to Votes" then take this with you and it shows you what to do". Facebook. Ian Olsen Independent Cessnock Ward B Councillor. 4 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
7. Sellars, Krystal (20 September 2016). "Nine new councillors elected to Cessnock City Council". The Cessnock Advertiser. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2024. followed by Ian Olsen's independent team on 26.79%
8. Sellars, Krystal (9 February 2021). "Cessnock councillor Ian Olsen to run for mayor, with candidates in each ward". The Cessnock Advertiser. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
9. "CESSNOCK INDEPENDENTS". Cessnock Independents. Archived from the original on 2 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024. Having won four seats in the previous election, the Independent team aims to win a majority during this coming election in order to make important changes
10. "Dungog". ABC News.
11. "City of Lake Macquarie". ABC News.
12. "City of Maitland Central Ward - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
13. "City of Maitland East Ward - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
14. "City of Maitland North Ward - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
15. "City of Maitland West Ward - First Preference Group and Candidate Votes by Aggregated Vote Type". NSW Electoral Commission. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
16. "Port Stephens". ABC News.
17. "Port Stephens west ward councillor Paul Le Mottee ruled out of local government election due to clerical error". Port Stephens Examiner.
18. "Bruce MacKenzie's 31 running mates". The Standard.