Dubbo council elections: news, results and voting day coverage

The counting of votes to determine the future of a troubled regional council has begun, with all eyes on two former mayors who are taking each other on.

Despite earlier suggestions results of a referendum into whether or not to abolish Dubbo Regional Council’s ward system would not come in until Monday, numbers have been put up on the Electoral Commission website and they show the system is likely to be scrapped.

Current results as at 10pm Saturday show 73.5 per cent of voters want the wards gone, while 26.4 per cent want them to stay.

If the wards are abolished there will be 11 councillors elected at the next election instead of the current 10.

UPDATE 9:30pm

Results for the Dubbo Regional Council elections are starting to trickle in and early indicators suggest former mayor Ben Shields could struggle to secure a seat on council.

Mr Shields and the group he leads have attracted 207 votes so far, while another former mayor Mathew Dickerson has 818 votes.

Former Dubbo mayor Mathew Dickerson has attracted more than 57 per cent of first preference votes in Central Ward so far.

Former Ben Shields Team member and now Labor candidate Vicki Etheridge has 388 votes for the group she leads.

Mr Dickerson is directing preferences to Mrs Etheridge and if the early voting trend holds up, Mr Shields could struggle to secure a seat on council.

In North Ward the Ben Shields Team and lead candidate Mick Catelotti have 77 votes, while high profile independent candidate Matt Wright has 32 votes.

Pam Wells and the Labor group she leads have 31 votes, the same number as Grahame Miller and the unnamed ticket he leads.

In East Ward the Lewis Burns group has 51 votes, while the Ben Shields Team and lead candidate Jeremy Ellis have 47. Ungrouped independent Damien Mahon has 40 votes.

Independent candidate Shibli Chowdhury leads the race in South Ward with 312 votes.

The Labor group led by Josh Black has 276 votes, while incumbent independent Kevin Parker has 158 votes.

In South Ward the Ben Shields Team led by incumbent councillor Greg Mohr has 132 votes.

First-time candidate Richard Ivery is doing well in the Wellington ward, leading his first preference vote count with 309 votes.

Veteran councillor Anne Jones is running second, with 309 votes while the Labor ticket led by Helen Swan has 284 votes.

Counting continues until 11pm Saturday.

UPDATE 5:30pm

When election results start to come in from 6pm, all eyes will be on the battle for the Central Ward former Dubbo mayors Mathew Dickerson and Ben Shields are contesting.

In an apparent bid to keep Mr Shields off council Mr Dickerson has directed his supporters to give their preferences to former Ben Shields Team member Vicki Etheridge, who is now a Labor candidate.

Dubbo council elections: Former Dubbo mayor Ben Shields casts his vote at the Wesley Centre in the city's CBD.

Mr Shields is hoping he can withstand a vocal campaign against him, in which a range of disturbing allegations have been aired publicly, to regain a seat at the decision making table.

“It’s very hard to get a feeling of the mood because I haven’t had two weeks of pre-poll,” Mr Shields said.

“Standing on pre-poll, giving out how-to-vote cards gives you a really good understanding of what is going to happen but no one has been able to do that this year.

“I knew that I had to give it a shot, I can’t go out without a fight and I owe it to the many supporters out there, who’ve stuck by me over this last six months, to have another crack at it. For every time someone rips into me I’ve got someone coming out defending me.”

Dubbo council elections: Candidate Matt Wright said voters were concerned about finances and wanted a clean slate.

North Ward candidate and the well known face of the Dubbo Chamber of Commerce, Matt Wright, said he sensed a mood for change and a council made up of more independent candidates.

“Obviously there was a fair bit of attention drawn to one group by the current mayor but overall I think it was a pretty clean campaign by everybody,” he said.

“There seems to be a lot of support for the independents, off the back of some issues with teams in the past.

“I think the independents will poll pretty well today, hopefully I’ll be one of those. People are looking for that independent-type voice and I think that’ll resonate through the results.”

East Ward candidate Lewis Burns.

East Ward candidate Lewis Burns said many people he spoke to during the campaign were concerned about the state of local roads and a shortage of affordable or accessible housing.

“We’ve got a lot of people living with relatives because they can’t get a house to rent or they can’t get a house to buy,” Mr Burns said.

“It just feels as though lately, a lot of the community has been divided and some parts of town are getting more attention than other parts of town.

“I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback and I told people I don’t really have any full-on policies, I’m just wanting to fix as much as I can. We’re all a team here, this is Dubbo and we want to promote Dubbo globally and ask people to come here and have a good time … we don’t want all of this bad publicity that we’ve been getting.”

Labor candidate Pam Wells said she was proud to see more Aboriginal residents running for council.

Mr Burns’ sister and fellow first-time candidate Pam Wells is contesting the North Ward for Labor and she said seeing a growing number of Aboriginal candidates contest the election was a source of great pride.

“I’m absolutely just chuffed about that, I think it’s fantastic,” she said.

“I’m really happy to see that there’s a strong, growing number of Aboriginal people wanting to be on council.”

Ms Wells said during the campaign she noticed demand for more attention to be given to services and social support for vulnerable young people and families.

While she considers herself an “underdog”, Ms Wells said she was glad she stood for council.

“I can’t complain if I don’t throw my hat in the ring to have a say at the table.

“If I win that’s great, hopefully the people the people that are at the table have really good views about the way this community grows.”

UPDATE 4:30pm

The final 10 candidates who will be elected to Dubbo Regional Council may not be known for several weeks, with the final counting of all votes not due to be completed until at least December 20.

Results of the referendum on whether or not to abolish wards will not be tallied on election night. Instead they will be counted after initial counting of votes for councillor positions has been conducted.

Courtney Johnson recently relocated to Dubbo and says she voted for independent candidates. Picture: Ryan Young

Courtney Johnson voted to abolish the wards and she said independent candidates got her vote.

“It’s quite confusing, all the different wards, especially as we’ve just moved here from Sydney,” Ms Johnson said.

“I’m not a party person, my partner is more into politics and he always says no to Labor so I didn’t vote Labor but I also didn’t vote for the Ben Shields Team because everyone around here so far has said not to.”

Lloyd Sutton wants red tape reduction to be a focus. Picture: Ryan Young

Lloyd Sutton said he wanted to focus more on removing bottlenecks in the development application process and cut unnecessary red tape.

“I voted for Ben Shields, I’m giving him another go the poor bugger,” Mr Sutton said.

“I’m just building a brand new home and I’ve been waiting eight or nine weeks for the plans to go through and it’s just not happening.”

Sandra Lehmann wants the new council to focus more on youth and support for sporting groups. Picture: Ryan Young

Sandra Lehmann said she voted for former mayor Mathew Dickerson because “he’ll do a good job”.

“I’m happy with whoever gets in because I think everyone’s got Dubbo at heart,” she said.

“I’m very into sport, we need lots more things for the children to do and that’s why we have all these problems because they’re bored and it’s the cost too.

“Some of the sporting fees are too high and it’s why a lot of children don’t play sport. If you’ve got five children in a family you just can’t afford it.”

Kathryn Endacott, Skittles the parrot and Debra Perreau. Picture: Ryan Young

Kathryn Endacott took her parrot Skittles to vote at Dubbo College Delroy Campus, along with friend Debra Perreau.

“In Bourke Street we’ve got dreadful problems with the parking, council keep approving businesses there and not thinking about the parking and the residents that actually live in Bourke Street,” Ms Endacott said.

“It’s actually parallel parking and people don’t realise, it’s not 45 degrees nose in.

“We also want that new diversion bridge going in and we need new businesses in town, there’s a lot of shops closing.”

Ms Perrau said she supported the Ben Shields team.

“He went through a lot and he tries hard,” she said.

“He did do a lot for Dubbo.”

UPDATE 2PM

A taxi driver says he’s fortunate there was no one around when he crashed through a fence at a polling place on a major election day.

The driver, who did not wish to be named, was “shaken” after a mishap behind the wheel led to his cab mounting a kerb and crashing through the fence of Dubbo North Public School about 9am Saturday.

Dubbo council elections: Police were called to Dubbo North Public School on election day after a taxi crashed into a fence. Picture: Ryan Young

“I went to move forward and somehow my foot got under the brake instead of on it,” he said.

“I must have hit the accelerator I don’t know, all I remember is trying to get my foot out from under the brake.

“I just about had it stopped by the time I hit that brick thing there.”

The driver said he was “shaken” but uninjured.

“I’m fearful my boss is going to kill me.

“There wasn’t a soul in sight, the bloke that witnessed it was parked across the road.”

More than 35,000 people across the Dubbo Regional Council area will vote in the election to determine which 10 candidates will represent them on the council for the next three years.

The line to vote at Dubbo College Delroy Campus ran out onto the street at some stages during election day. Picture: Ryan Young

A referendum is also being held with voters to have their say on whether or not to abolish the ward system of voting, which was introduced after Dubbo and Wellington councils were forcibly amalgamated by the NSW Government in 2016.

The system divides the local government area into five wards with two candidates elected from each.

Many residents and candidates alike have been eagerly awaiting polling day since the troubled council became consumed by controversy in March 2021 after former mayor Ben Shields lost the support of a majority of councillors.

Mr Shields attempted to take his own life and after revealing details of his mental health challenges, he quit council citing intense infighting and the need to focus on his recovery.

Former Deputy Mayor Stephen Lawrence became mayor and council ordered an independent investigation into its handling of complaints.

The investigation led to a series of damning conclusions and referrals to external agencies for further investigation.

Mr Shields and two other former high profile Dubbo mayors, Mathew Dickerson and Greg Matthews, are attempting to mount comebacks and return to council after the election.

During the election campaign, which has been labelled the “dirtiest ever” by Mr Shields, numerous controversies have shocked the community.

• Lifeline – 13 11 14