Bayside Council: Labor and Liberal councillors negotiate rare alliance

Backroom negotiations between Labor and Liberal councillors to share power on a southern Sydney council will risk alienating voters who put their trust in the major parties, according to a fellow councillor.

Backroom negotiations between Labor and Liberal councillors to share power on a southern Sydney council will risk alienating voters who put their trust in the major parties, according to a fellow councillor.

It comes as election results were finalised for Bayside Council on Tuesday with the chamber to be made up of six Labor councillors, five Liberals, a Greens, an independent and two members of the left-leaning Peaceful Bayside party.

This publication understands the political mixed-bag has prompted Labor and the Liberals to hold talks about forming a majority alliance, with plans to split the roles of mayor and deputy mayor between the two parties over the next four years.

A source close to council, who wished to remain anonymous, said Labor would likely hold both positions for the first two years, followed by the Liberals.

Returning Peaceful Bayside councillor Heidi Lee Douglas said an alliance between the major parties would backfire against their voter bases and platforms, which run on “not [being] the same” as each other.

Peaceful Bayside councillor Heidi Lee Douglas said the major parties will risk alienating voters by striking the deal.

“It’s a federal election year and the major parties are supposed to be giving the voters a choice and not being a repetition of the same,” she said.

“The progressive councillors hold the balance of power and this is what the community has voted for. So we should expect this council to reflect the growing progressive sentiments of our community as reflected in who was elected.

“If the major parties band together to ostracise the progressive councillors, they will risk alienating more voters and seeing a bigger swing against the major parties at the next local government election in Bayside.”

The Bayside Liberal team is reportedly in talks to “share mayoralty” with Labor councillors.

The Bayside Liberal team is reportedly in talks to “share mayoralty” with Labor councillors.

Pathways to Politics for Women NSW director Rosalind Dixon said the motivations behind major party deals should be scrutinised.

“We depend on robust competition between the major parties as well as between the minor parties and [independents] to ensure governments are accountable to voters,” Ms Dixon said.

“We should be worried when parties make deals that undermine the vibrancy of that competition.

“If the motivation for co-operation is to protect core democratic values or advance sensible and practical long-term policy outcomes then this is welcome. However, if it is an attempt to lock out new parties or movements, then we should be much more sceptical of that alliance and apply a higher level of scrutiny to it”.

Professor Rosalind Dixon said the motivation behind major party deals should be scrutinised.

The potential Labor-Liberal alliance comes as Bayside Council prepares to hold its own internal mayoral vote on October 9.

If the deal goes ahead as this publication understand, Bayside Council in two years time may be headed by its first Liberal mayor since the Rockdale and Botany councils were merged in 2016.

The newly-elected council features a reduced Labor line-up and Liberal ambush compared to the previous council, which had no representation from the blue major party.

Elizabeth Barlow remains the only independent on council, down from seven independents in the last term, while Peaceful Bayside picked up a second seat with Janin Bredehoeft.

The Greens have retained one councillor position despite Greta Werner not earning re-election with their representation now coming from Peter Strong.