Northern Beaches Council: Budget set to be ‘prickly’ issue as Your Northern Beaches Independent Team eyes takeover
The “teal wave” took federal politics by storm. But it’s an orange onslaught that’s set to hit local government on the northern beaches, where a team of independents is eyeing off a majority of council seats.
Manly
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A group of “orange” independents is set to dominate the Northern Beaches Council after Saturday’s Liberal-free election, but it will still have some “prickly” issues to deal with over the next four years.
The “teal wave” has taken federal politics by storm in recent years, but the northern beaches’ local government poll turned into an orange onslaught as the brightly dressed Your Northern Beaches Independent Team (YNBT) put itself in position to pick up as many as eight seats, which would give it a slim majority on the 15-member council.
With counting of pre-poll votes still underway, and postal votes yet to be counted, YNBT has already secured seven seats.
There is a chance it could grab another spot, with its Frenchs Forest Ward candidate, Penny Philpott, neck and neck with the Greens’ Ethan Hrnjak.
“It’s on a knife’s edge,” YNBT councillor Sue Heins, the northern beaches’ most recent mayor, said on Tuesday.
But no matter the final make up of the council, Ms Heins said that she expected the team would have to negotiate issues with the Greens, as well as the other four independents likely to be voted in.
The Greens were optimistic they would be taking three to four seats.
And it was the issues of future rate hikes to help pay for rising maintenance costs, cutbacks in spending, as well as rezonings to allow more townhouses and flats, that Ms Heins expected to be top of the agenda.
In June, the council voted to lift rates by 4.9 per cent — the maximum allowed under NSW rate caps — in 2024/25.
“The council’s long term financial plan will definitely be a big issue for us,” Ms Heins said.
“We’ve got a community with high expectations of what they want.
“But there has to be a line in the sand.
“Are you willing to pay for it, or do you want us to cut it, or delay it?
“It’s definitely going to be one of those prickly topics that we are going to jump on very quickly.”
Ms Heins also predicted that housing availability, especially the NSW Government’s push to address the lack of accommodation by rezoning land around transport hubs and town centres to allow more townhouses and flats, would be a hot topic in the next council term.
“It’s apparent our community is worried about housing and affordability,” she said.
The council voted in June to submit a draft Local Environment Plan for review by the NSW Planning Department.
It would allow more housing types in the area, including an increase in dual occupancies.
The Greens’ Miranda Korzy, who ran for a second term in Pittwater Ward, said she expected the council would have “some really tough decisions ahead of it, particularly on the budget, planning and climate adaption”.
“We know that right across the northern beaches that climate is the top priority,” Ms Korzy said.
“I think the new council will be much more co-operative on that.”
An “accidental” Liberal turned independent, Mandeep “Sunny” Singh, looks set to win a council seats alongside incumbent independents Vincent De Luca and Candy Bingham.
Mr De Luca’s running mate in the Narrabeen Ward, Bob Giltinan, a former deputy mayor and councillor with the old Warringah Council, should also get a seat.
Mr Singh, who owns six local cafes and managed to get his name on the ballot paper despite the NSW Liberal Party’s nomination stuff up, said he would be happy to work with the YNBT to achieve his goal of cutting red tape for small business operators.
“That’s my priority,” he said.
“We need to encourage more small business people to come and join our community.”
The election results will be finalised in early October.
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