2024 Local government elections across Hunter councils
While most results are yet to be known as counting continues, one council had a new mayor announced late on Saturday night.
Newcastle
Don't miss out on the headlines from Newcastle. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Voting closed at 6pm on Saturday as hundreds of election workers across NSW get down to counting all the results.
We keep you updated with results from Hunter councils as they come in:
New Lake Macquarie Mayor
Following in the footsteps of his Labor counterpart, Adam Schultz will be the next Lake Macquarie Mayor after he declared the win late on Saturday night.
Cr Schultz recorded 35 per cent and more than 32,000 of the votes, well ahead of his nearest rivals Liberal Melody Harding and Lake Mac Independent Kate Warner who were both at around 20 per cent of the vote.
But thanks to preferences with the Greens and Independent Rosmairi Dawson, Cr Schultz was able to claim the win for the top job which he’ll be officially starting in October at the next council meeting.
“Ecstatic, really looking forward to the next four years and the challenge ahead, I believe I can hit the ground running having served for the last eight years and deputy in 2022 and 2023,” he said.
Right now Cr Schultz said there are a number of issues that currently needed to be addressed and he’ll be working hard to do that.
“The Hunter Sports Centre which is under construction hoping to finish that in the early new year,” he added.
“New learn to swim pool at West Wallsend pool, it has been on the horizon for a long time and it will be great to bring that to fruition, we’ve got East Lake Macquarie recycling centre as well.”
The new Lake Macquarie Mayor also wants to run a housing forum.
“Once I get my feet under the desk if we could have a housing forum where by we bring development industry, housing providers, unions, key politicians and key local organisations to see how we think collaboratively and how we can differentiate Lake Macquarie from the other 127 LGAs around the state,” he said.
Cr Schultz will take the reigns from Labor’s Kay Fraser who was elected mayor in 2016 and has been on council since 2004 before deciding to retire this year.
10pm - In Lake Macquarie it was still Labor’s Adam Schultz who had a convincing lead with more than 31,000 votes and 35 per cent of the vote, 10 per cent above his next rivals Liberal Melody Harding and Lake Mac Independent Kate Warner.
Meanwhile Labor’s Leah Anderson has a healthy buffer from her closest rivals Independents Mark Watson and Paul Le Mottee in the six person race for Mayor at Port Stephens.
While it was a tough battle in 2021 against Ryan Palmer to only lose by a fraction, early indications are that she could become the next mayor.
And In Cessnock it is definitely too close to call with current Mayor Jay Suvaal getting a run for his money by Independent Daniel Watton who is just four per cent in-front on the count.
Former Labor Party member-turned-independent Ross Kerridge appears to be taking the race for Newcastle City’s top job to the wire against incumbent Nuatali Nelmes.
With over half of the 126,400 votes counted at 9.50pm, Ms Nelmes had fallen more than 400 votes behind Dr Kerridge.
Preferences from Greens candidate Charlotte McCabe, who has attracted a pumped-up Green vote of more than 16 per cent, and that of Liberal Party candidate Callum (12 per cent), will be crucial.
A large chunk of postal votes may also hold a key.
As at 9.50pm, Ms Nelmes had 32.28 per cent of the vote, while Dr Kerridge had attracted 33.04 per cent.
9:50pm - With less than an hour to go before counting was set to close on Saturday, only a small number of votes had been counted for Muswellbrook Council.
Only 390 of the nearly 12,000 votes had been recorded with a staggering 31 per cent of informal or dummy votes.
It was also a confusing exercise for voters to decipher who would be their next councillors, with votes coming in for each group but not recorded for individual candidates.
From the votes that were there, 43 per cent went to group B which included Jeff Drayton, Louise Dunn, Clare Bailey, Stephen Ward, Rachel McInnes and Tracey Vicarey.
9:33pm - Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes is in a fight for her political life as former Labor Party member-turned-independent Ross Kerridge appears to be taking the race for the city’s top job to the wire.
With almost half of the 126,400 votes counted at 9.30pm, Ms Nelmes was just under 700 votes ahead.
Preferences from Greens candidate Charlotte McCabe, who has attracted a pumped-up Green vote of more than 17 per cent, and that of Liberal Party candidate Callum (12 per cent), will be crucial.
A large chunk of postal votes may also hold a key.
As at 9.30pm, Ms Nelmes had 32.86 per cent of the vote, while Dr Kerridge had attracted 31.67 per cent.
In 2021, Ms Nelmes attracted 41.9 per cent of the vote, just a tad more than the party attracted in the overall council area (40.8%).
She easily beat Independent councillor John Church (27.3%) - who did not seek re-election onto the council this election.
Local polling areas were overcrowded at some venues, with some voters venting their frustrations about long queues and lack of shade.
Some voters at Hamilton Public School waited more than an hour to get inside the polling booths to cast their votes.
The council had continued to be a fierce Labor stronghold, with seven of the 13 councillors from the ALP.
The Liberals had three seats, the Greens two and Mr Church was the only independent.
9:22pm - One in four Cessnock voters have thrown their preference in the electoral bins, with huge numbers of informal votes being cast following the Liberal Party nomination debacle.
Four Liberals on last term’s Cessnock City Council - Paul Dunn, John Moores, Karen Jackson and Paul Paynter - were left to rue the failures of had office.
The Liberals, headed by Mr Dunn, had worked for over a decade to pull in more than 21 per cent of the vote in the 2021 local government elections.
And it appears their supporters have turned donkey voters, with huge numbers in each of the council’s four wards.
Informal voting rates were between 24 per cent and 26 per cent across the wards after about 20 per cent of the vote was counted. The suggestion that the informal votes in the Cessnock wards were deliberate took greater prominence with just seven per cent of informal votes counted in the mayoral race with half of the votes counted.
There were also similar numbers in Maitland, where only one Liberal made it onto the ballots.
There was still an informal rate of 15 per cent in that councillor’s ward, however the percentages across the three other wards climbed to between 19 per cent and 23 per cent.
9:03pm - Incumbent Cessnock Mayor Jay Suvaal could be in trouble with Independent Daniel Watton taking lead with more than 50 per cent of the vote now counted.
Watton has polled close to 12,000 at 48 per cent while Suvaal has a bit of catching up to do with just 43 per cent.
After Bob Pynsent decided not to re-elect for Mayor in 2021, Suvaal took a resounding win in the top job with 60 per cent of the votes ahead of Ian Olsen.
He’ll now be crossing his fingers to come up with a few more votes to overtake his Independent competitor.
8:48pm - Independent incumbent Sue Moore has taken a stranglehold on the three-way Singleton mayoral race, polling more than 47 per cent of the votes with over a third counted.
Ms Moore was expected to find some opposition from Labor candidate Peree Watson and Independent Danny Thompson.
But the sitting mayor had already attracted 2818 of the 6292 votes counted by 8.30pm, almost 800 clear of Mr Thompson (33.82%).
Ms Watson, who is a well-known figure throughout the area and was beaten by Nationals MP Dave Layzell in last year’s state elections, has attracted just under 19 per cent of the vote.
There are nine councillors to be elected from 12 candidates in Singleton.
8:40pm - It’s nearing half of the total 166,305 votes counted in Lake Macquarie.
So far Labor’s Adam Schultz is sitting comfortably in front with more than 25,000 and 35 per cent of the vote hoping he can continue Labor’s reign with Kay Fraser stepping down after two stints as Mayor and two decades in council.
Liberal Melody Harding and Lake Mac Independent Kate Warner are both the next best at around 20 per cent of the vote with the Greens Bryce Hams following on with 11 per cent.
So far things aren’t looking too promising for Our Local Community’s John Gilbert or independent Rosmairi Dawson trailing well behind.
8:26pm - Just over a third of the votes have been counted in the hotly contested mayoral race for Port Stephens Council with Labor’s Leah Anderson an early leader with almost 50 per cent of the vote.
Independents Mark Watson and Paul Le Mottee are neck and neck with 25 per cent of the vote each, but there is still a long way to go to get a clear winner.
Whatever the result it will be a new mayor for Port Stephens with incumbent Ryan Palmer stepping down and not re-electing.
In 2021 he won the top job by just a whisker against Cr Anderson in just a two-way race. He got in with 50.6 per cent of the vote.
8:15pm - Maitland Mayor Philip Penfold looks set to win his second term with a commanding early lead over his main rival, Labor’s Ben Whiting.
With over a quarter of the vote counted at 8.10pm, Mr Penfold (54.64%) has attracted well over half the primary vote.
Mr Whiting (30.5%) is almost 5000 votes behind after almost 20,000 of the 69,121 votes had been counted.
It will be a significant pat on the back for the independent mayor, after he defeated incumbent Labor mayor Loretta Baker in 2021 when he compiled 34.3 per cent of the primary vote and 51.7 per cent in a two-party preferred basis.
Ms Baker called time on her 16-year council career earlier this year and is not seeking re-election.
The Maitland election was another local government area rocked by the Liberal Party candidate fiasco, with several of the party’s incumbents out of the race because their nomination was not entered in time.
That included Ben Mitchell, who was seeking his third term and had run for mayor in 2021, gaining 14.6 per cent of the vote.
The mayor was one of five independents voted onto the council in 2021, with Labor and the Liberal Party both having four positions.
8:07pm - Greens preferences may become crucial in the chase to be the next Newcastle lord mayor, with independent Ross Kerridge grabbing a significant slice of the vote as he chases incumbent Nuatali Nelmes.
With almost a quarter of the votes counted at 8pm, Mr Kerridge (8753) was just a touch over 500 votes behind Ms Nelmes (9294).
The lord mayor had attracted almost 33 per cent of the vote while Mr Kerridge’s slice was a touch over 31 per cent.
Greens candidate Charlotte McCabe had attracted over 17 per cent of the vote, and those preferences, along with those from Liberal Party candidate Callum Pull (12%) could be crucial in who takes office.
In 2021, Ms Nelmes attracted 41.9 per cent of the vote, just a tad more than the party attracted in the overall council area (40.8%).
She easily beat Independent councillor John Church (27.3%) - who did not seek re-election onto the council this election.
Local polling areas were overcrowded at some venues, with some voters venting their frustrations about long queues and lack of shade.
Some voters at Hamilton Public School waited more than an hour to get inside the polling booths to cast their votes.
The council had continued to be a fierce Labor stronghold, with seven of the 13 councillors from the ALP.
The Liberals had three seats, the Greens two and Mr Church was the only independent.
7:31pm - Close to 19,000 votes have already been counted for Lake Macquarie Council and Labor’s Adam Schultz has taken an early lead.
He has 6719 votes so far ahead of Liberal’s Melody Harding with 4065.
Lake Mac Independent Kate Warner is also polling well so far with 3732 votes.
7:21pm - It looks like it could be a tight race between incumbent Mayor Jay Suvaal and Independent Daniel Watton in a three-way Cessnock mayoral race.
Watton has jumped ahead with 1340 votes at 50 per cent, with Suvaal with 978 votes and 37 per cent.
Greens Llynda Nairn is also in the running gathering 12 per cent of the vote so far.
7:08pm - Independent incumbent Sue Moore has taken an early lead in three-way Singleton mayoral race.
Ms Moore was expected to find some opposition from Labor candidate Peree Watson and Independent Danny Thompson.
Ms Watson is a well-known figure throughout the area and was beaten by Nationals MP Dave Layzell in last year’s state elections.
With just six per cent of the vote counted at 7pm, Ms Moore (53.72%) had more than half of the primary vote, compared to Mr Thompson (26%) and Ms Watson (19.6%).
There are nine councillors to be elected from 12 candidates in Singleton.
EARLIER
Newcastle
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes is looking for a fourth term running the state’s second largest city.
Ms Nelmes is expected to experience some competition from former Labor candidate and now independent Ross Kerridge and Liberal candidate Callum Pull.
In 2021, Ms Nelmes attracted 41.9 per cent of the vote, just a tad more than the party attracted in the overall council area (40.8%).
She easily beat Independent councillor John Church (27.3%) - who did not seek re-election onto the council this election.
Local polling areas were overcrowded at some venues, with some voters venting their frustrations about long queues and lack of shade.
Some voters at Hamilton Public School waited more than an hour to get inside the polling booths to cast their votes.
The council had continued to be a fierce Labor stronghold, with seven of the 13 councillors from the ALP.
The Liberals had three seats, the Greens two and Mr Church was the only independent.
Maitland
Maitland Mayor Philip Penfold is looking at his second term if he can stave off a concerted effort from Labor’s Ben Whiting.
Mr Penfold (IND) defeated incumbent Labor mayor Loretta Baker in 2021 after compiling 34.3 per cent of the primary vote and 51.7 per cent in a two-party preferred basis.
Ms Baker called time on her 16-year council career earlier this year and is not seeking re-election.
The Maitland election was another local government area rocked by the Liberal Party candidate fiasco, with several of the party’s incumbents out of the race because their nomination was not entered in time.
That included Ben Mitchell, who was seeking his third term and had run for mayor in 2021, gaining 14.6 per cent of the vote.
The mayor was one of five independents voted onto the council in 2021, with Labor and the Liberal Party both having four positions.
Lake Macquarie
Roads, rates and rubbish were the hot ticket items with Lake Macquarie voters.
Having a fortnightly general waste pick-up was a particular sore point with a lot ratepayers which was the talking point on Saturday.
Liberal Mayoral candidate Melody Harding said there is a high level of disgruntled voters.
“I was talking to a young mum and then a young dad who were having issues about the fact that their rubbish is only collected every fortnight,” she said.
“They have babies, they need rubbish collected once a week, they have inquired about that and discovered it is quite an expensive undertaking to have it collected.”
Ms Harding is also pushing for “practical development” and to address the cost of living crisis for many ratepayers and a more efficient development application process.
But with a strong Labor hold and the top job being held by the highly popular Kay Fraser for the past two terms, who has been on council since 2004, Ms Harding believes it will be a big hill to climb.
“I think it is always a challenge in the Newcastle Hunter regions for the Liberal Party, we have done our best,” she said.
Although just glad she was one of a few Liberal candidates able to run following the recent debacle which saw a critical nomination deadline missed.
“It was a shemozzle and a disgrace and personally I’m very happy the Federal Liberal Party has stepped in to NSW and taken charge because they’ve been eating themselves from the inside out,” she added.
“It had to change and I hope it is going to be a positive change, it really gives you a bad image.”
Meanwhile Adam Schultz is hoping to take the reigns from fellow councillor Fraser and continue the Labor strong hold.
He got in his vote early in the day at his home booth in Valentine.
Port Stephens
With the current Mayor Ryan Palmer taking himself out of the race, it is a hotly contested spot in Port Stephens.
Current councillor Paul Le Mottee, who is vying for the top job, said it came down to whether people wanted a council controlled by an Independent or party politics.
“The Labor candidates are trying to say that they’re not going to be controlled by Sydney but if you ever read the Labor Party rules of local government they have to, so I don’t know how they’re getting away with saying,” the Independent candidate said.
“One of our major platforms is to keep party politics out of local government for the benefit of Port Stephens.
“A lot of people that would vote Labor in State and Federal have told me they are not voting Labor in local government because they don’t believe it belongs there.”
On Saturday, Cr Le Motte stationed himself at the Fern Bay polling booth, an area with over 19,000 voters.
He also enlisted the help of a good friend Kevin Lynch OAM who he’s known for about 30 years, as he spent the day talking to constituents and spruiking him as the next Port Stephens mayor. The 83-year-old is adamant people don’t want party politics.
“We don’t want politics in local government and we need good strong people because there’s three things Roads Rates and rubbish that are important and pot holes around here you can just about build a swimming pool in,” he laughed.
Meanwhile Labor councillor Giacomo Arnott was spruiking Labor’s intentions at Fern Bay and said people were keen to hear about their plans for a better Port Stephens.
“There’s a supermarket DA in the pipeline at the moment, development has gone through the roof without the proper infrastructure to support it and people are keen to see road grade upgrades on Nelson Bay road.”
With seven years as councillor under his belt, Cr Arnott is hoping to make that a few more years as one of the youngest councillors in NSW, citing it’s the “best job in the world”, while also pushing for a new Labor mayor.
“Someone who has integrity, someone people can trust and someone who will always act in their best interests,” he said.
“Know they will get a full time mayor, she will actually do it full time and get her full attention.”
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