Our Local Community

Last updated
Our Local Community
AbbreviationOLC
Leader Paul Garrard
FounderPaul Garrard
FoundedNovember 2013
Registeredc. 2017
Preceded by Woodville Independents
Headquarters42 O'Neill Street
Granville, New South Wales
Membership (2013)300 [1]
Ideology Conservatism [2]
Localism
Political position Centre-right to right-wing [3]
Colours   Teal and orange
SloganCaring. Consulting. Understanding.
Parramatta City Council
4 / 15
Cumberland City Council
3 / 15
Canada Bay City Council
2 / 9

Our Local Community (OLC) is an Australian political party that competes in local elections in New South Wales. The party was formed in 2013 by former Parramatta mayor Paul Garrard, and is currently registered with the New South Wales Electoral Commission. [1] [4]

Contents

Unlike many other local government political parties in Australia, OLC competes in and has members on several different councils.

There are currently four OLC councillors on Parramatta City Council, three on Cumberland City Council and two on Canada Bay Council. [2]

History

OLC founder and independent councillor Paul Garrad was a member of the Labor Party until 2004 when he was not preselected to run for the state seat of Granville. [1] He was re-elected to council at the 2012 local elections after forming Woodville Independents. [5]

The party's stated aims are to encourage participation by the community in a wide range of activities and services, to improve local infrastructure in the best interests of residents and the wider community and endeavor to provide an active voice in addressing various social issues. [6]

In 2017, OLC won 2 seats in Cumberland and 2 seats in Parramatta. [7] [8] The party also contested Canterbury-Bankstown. [9]

Labor councillor Steve Christou defected to OLC in 2019, as did directly elected Labor mayor Angelo Tsirekas in October 2021. [10] [11]

At the 2021 local elections, the party won an additional 3 seats in Canada Bay, and contested Fairfield and Randwick for the first time. [11] An additional two seats (including Steve Christou) in both Cumberland and Parramatta were also gained. [12] Before the elections, OLC councillor Andrew Wilson joined The Small Business Party. [13]

State and federal politics

Although the party is registered for local elections in New South Wales, it is not registered for state elections or with the Australian Electoral Commission for federal elections. However, a number of OLC members have contested elections as independents. [4]

Michelle Garrard achieved 4% of the vote in Parramatta at the 2019 state election, running on behalf of the party. [14] [15]

Steve Christou ran in Parramatta at the 2022 federal election. He had 3.5% of the vote. [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cr Paul Garrard forms new community party to contest Parramatta Council election". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 Segaert, Anthony (15 May 2024). "We asked every Cumberland councillor about the same-sex book ban. Here's what they said" . Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "Three Sydney Councillors who voted for a same-sex book ban were from one party. What's behind it?".
  4. 1 2 "Local government register of political parties". New South Wales Electoral Commission.
  5. ↑ "Parramatta City Council". ABC News.
  6. ↑ "Constitution of 'Our Local Community'" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission.
  7. ↑ "Cumberland". ABC News.
  8. ↑ "City of Parramatta". ABC News.
  9. ↑ "Canterbury-Bankstown". ABC News.
  10. ↑ "Cumberland Council new mayor Steve Christou quits Labor Party". The Daily Telegraph.
  11. 1 2 "Canada Bay". ABC News.
  12. ↑ "Results by Local Government Area". New South Wales Electoral Commission.
  13. ↑ "NSW council elections – who is running, and how many?". The Tally Room.
  14. ↑ "MICHELLE GARRARD – Our Local Community (OLC) PARRAMATTA STATE ELECTIONS Independent CANDIDATE". Facebook. Our Local Community - Parramatta.
  15. ↑ "Parramatta - NSW Election 2019". ABC News.
  16. ↑ Parramatta, NSW, 2022 Tally Room, Australian Electoral Commission.
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