2024 council election: How results will reshape north shore councils in coming four year term

Independents have emerged as the big winners from election counting on the north shore after the Liberals were wiped out in one council area in the wake of the party’s nomination blunder.

Managing increased housing density and the impacts of major infrastructure projects have been named as the biggest issues facing new and returning north shore councillors, following the results of the weekend’s local government elections.

Candidates in the Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney and Willoughby Council regions have offered early insights into how they think local politics could play out over the next four years as ballots from Saturday’s elections continue to be counted.

Early results show the biggest electoral shift on the north shore has occurred in Lane Cove where the Liberal nomination blunder left the party unable to field candidates.

Independents like Merri Southwood, who has secured the highest percentage any candidate, have picked up a large proportion of votes.

Meanwhile, Zoe Baker, North Sydney’s mayor during the previous council term, has declared her intention to recontest the mayoral position after securing the highest number of votes in the council’s St Leonards ward.

Zoe Baker

Liberal candidate Jess Keen – the only candidate to run as a Liberal in the North Sydney election – is leading the count in the Cammeraygal Ward.

Ms Keen said she was “thrilled” with the result, adding that it was “far greater than we were expecting”.

Mosman is, meanwhile, on track for its first new mayor in seven years after Ann Marie Kimber secured the majority of votes in the mayoral election.

Willoughby Mayor Tanya Taylor is also expected to be re-elected, having gained a comfortable lead in early counting in that council’s mayoral election.

In Ku-ring-gai, early results show up to eight current councillors who contested the election are on track for re-election.

Ms Southwood said the results in Lane Cove were “vindication” following “negative commentary” aimed at independent candidates during the election campaign.

“I felt there’s been a lot of negative commentary about independents not understanding our role in local government and also criticism for some of the questions we’ve been asking of the council,” she said.

“We have been told that a lot of information we were seeking were operational matters and wasn’t our role as councillors to ask questions or seek information.

Lane Cove independent candidate Merri Southwood

“The results show the community has a very different view and in a sense our position has been validated.

“As councillors, we do have a role to ensure there is transparency.”

Ms Southwood believes the success of independents at the election will result in increased public reporting and transparency relating to the council projects, including the current development of the Lane Cove Sports and Recreation Centre.

She said she would also be pushing for the council to reverse a decision to split public forum sessions from council meetings, a decision she said had resulted in fewer residents addressing councillors on community issues.

Ann Marie Kimber is on track to becoming the new mayor of Mosman.

In North Sydney, Ms Baker believes big issues for the new council will include managing the impacts of increased housing density, pressures around open green space, and the impacts of Western Harbour Tunnel and Warringah Freeway upgrade to ensure the project “doesn’t end up like another Rozelle Interchange”.

“A lot of the issues are those coming from the state government and we need to put a strong position to advocate for the community,” she said.

Jess Keen.

Tanya Taylor.

In Ku-ring-gai, Mayor Sam Ngai is considering running again for the mayoral position after securing the highest percentage of votes of any candidate in the council election.

He said overdevelopment had been one the biggest issues for the community in the lead-up to polling day.

“About 80 per cent of people who talked to me had concerns about the six-storey uniformed approach the government is taking,” he said.

In Mosman, Ms Kimber said the focus of the new term of council would include addressing the impacts of the NSW government’s housing reforms.

“People are also concerned with traffic and parking, so the council will be working to ensure we’re getting the right type of transport including more buses on Military Rd,” she said.

In Willoughby, Ms Taylor said the council will continue to advocate on important issues for residents including acting on tree vandalism and increased density.

“My focus will also be on the longer term vision for the council including how we’re going to respond to the increased density being pushed on us by the state government,” she said. 

The NSW Electoral Commission said counting from Saturday’s election would continue for the next two weeks, with final results between October 1 and 3.