NSW council elections 2017: Liberals tipped to suffer backlash
LIBERAL candidates will bear the brunt of a Berejiklian government backlash in today’s delayed local council elections, opening the door to independent candidates with largely unknown political views.
NSW
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LIBERAL candidates will bear the brunt of a Berejiklian government backlash in today’s delayed local council elections, opening the door to independent candidates with largely unknown political views.
A total of 46 NSW councils caught up in the government’s botched merger policy go to the polls today, with voters expected to punish the Liberals for their slipshod handling of the process. The state’s other 78 councils held elections last year.
The already unpopular decision to merge councils descended into farce in July as Premier Gladys Berejiklian allowed country councils and those challenging the issue in the courts to remain as they were. However, those already merged were forced to stay amalgamated.
Voters are set to use today’s vote to vent frustration with the Liberal state and federal governments over other issues, without the risk of kicking either out.
And the expected fall in support for the Liberals, coupled with low turnouts because so few people even know the election is on, means none of the three main parties may claim overall control in some areas.
That means Labor, the Liberals and Greens may have to strike a series of deals with a large number of independents to form a working majority. Many of the independents running in today’s elections have deliberately eschewed loyalty to any party in a bid to hide their true political allegiance. There are also a small number known to hold extremist views.
Ms Berejiklian yesterday clammed up, refusing to comment on the election — even rejecting an opportunity to urge people to vote Liberal — and is not expected to make any public appearances when the results start becoming clear tomorrow. Broadly, there is expected to be a swing to Labor in many of the councils.
“We’ll cop a battering in some LGAs (local government areas),” one senior Liberal source told The Saturday Telegraph yesterday.
The Liberals are so concerned that they tempted former Howard government minister Philip Ruddock to make a political comeback at the grand age of 74. He is running for mayor of Hornsby, following major infighting between the party over the merger issue.
“I can definitely see there being a backlash against the Liberals.”
He acknowledged there was lingering concern about the merger issue after Hornsby’s proposed amalgamation with neighbouring Ku-ring-gai was ditched in July. But he insisted mergers would not impact today’s vote.
However, Labor is also worried, with particular concerns that some independents are actually Liberals, with a background in the development, real estate or construction industries.
The new Inner West Council is a classic example of an area where independents are likely to be needed to form a majority, with neither Labor nor the Greens expected to win enough votes on their own to gain outright control.
The Socialist Alliance, a bunch of anti-capitalists that wants to nationalise banks and mining companies, and introduce a 30-hour working week with no loss of wages, is running three “activist” candidates there.
Inner West was formed from a merger of Ashfield, Leichhardt and Marrickville, the latter of which has a history of extremism, including a Greens-led ban on Israeli products that ended up costing ratepayers $4 million.
Pauline Lockie, founder of the WestConnex Action Group, is also running as an independent for Inner West Council. She is backed by Lord Mayor Clover Moore and wants to halt construction of the much-needed new WestConnex motorway, which will ease congestion for millions of Western Sydney commuters who routinely spend hours bumper to bumper in gridlocked traffic.
Asked if she would strike a deal with any of the major parties, Ms Lockie said she would be guided by “the best interests of our community”.
She is far from the only outsider looking to capitalise on the chaos enveloping the Liberals. Flamboyant Hornsby Greens candidate Joseph Nicita, whose online snaps show he has a love of figure-hugging red outfits, is also hoping to cash in.
“I can definitely see there being a backlash against the Liberals,” the 22-year-old said.
Labor Leader Luke Foley said he was hoping for a successful day. “Today is an opportunity for voters to let the Premier know directly that they’re unhappy.”
BUSINESS LEADERS IN LOCAL LINE-UPS
A BUSINESSMAN who has been fighting Parramatta Council for five years to have his plans for a multi-million- dollar unit block approved is today running to be elected to the very same council.
The Saturday Telegraph has discovered at least five other candidates standing in today’s council elections have declared that they are either property developers or have links to them, with the revelation leading to calls for an immediate ban on property tycoons being elected.
Candidates in Strathfield, Bathurst, Parramatta, Newcastle, North Shore and Deniliquin are all developers.
The NSW government has refused to ban property developers from sitting on local councils — even though their donations to state politicians are illegal.
Benjamin Barrack, the Liberals candidate for Parramatta Council, has spent five years in the Land and Environment Court over his plans for an eight-storey, 44-unit residential development in Harris Park, which has still not been given the green light. He also took Parramatta Council to court in 2007, and won, after it rejected his plans for the construction of five townhouses.
Mr Barrack did not respond to The Daily Telegraph’s questions yesterday, saying they were “smear” and “innuendo” from his opponents before hanging up the phone.
Mr Barrack’s business does not meet the definition of “property developer” as he is not someone who regularly makes development applications.
“They absolutely should be banned.”
Property developers running in today’s council elections include Liberal Jo Manitta in Newcastle, Labor’s Nick Packham in Bathurst and independent candidates Charles Raneri in Strathfield, Jeff Shand in Deniliquin and Paul Le Mottee in Port Stephens.
In Parramatta, Liberal candidate Martin Zaiter acts as an accountant for property developers.
He was also a shareholder of WZ Developments, a shelf-company deregistered days before council nominations closed.
The director of the company, Rony Wardan, has had numerous development applications with Parramatta Council, including plans for 30- and 40-storey buildings.
“Some of my clients … are developers. If that were ever to come up, and I ever had a conflict of interest, I would always declare that,” Mr Zaiter said.
First Home Buyers Australia director Taj Singh said allowing developers to sit on councils was potentially “a huge conflict of interest”. “They absolutely should be banned,” Mr Singh said.
Fairfield councillor Dai Le agreed: “If you’re there as a developer on council, you get access to information about zoning, development patrol plans, so you know as a councillor what the plan is for council over the next four years.”
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