‘A Labor Party hit job’: Fury at move to outlaw private companies running council elections

NSW Premier Chris Minns has put private companies running council elections on notice that they could be outlawed, saying reports of three-hour delays at last Saturday’s poll were unacceptable.

The comments sparked an immediate backlash from Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, whose council was one of two that used the private operator Australian Election Company. He accused the state government of a “hit job” and an effort to distract from Labor’s failure among voters.

A private company ran the election in two local government areas last weekend.Credit: Steven Siewert

Australian Election Company was engaged by Fairfield and Liverpool councils in Sydney’s south-west, with Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun citing the cost of NSW Electoral Commission-run elections and waiting times during the pandemic-delayed 2021 vote as the reason for the decision.

Minns said on Friday that reports of “two- and three-hour” delays at polling booths across Liverpool were not good enough and undermined efforts to make compulsory voting as seamless as possible. Voters also experienced confusion over the location of polling booths.

“So I’m inclined to introduce an amendment to outlaw [private election providers] in NSW,” he said.

“It should be remembered that the vast majority of cities and municipalities use the NSW Electoral Commission. We need to make sure they’re efficient and then [that] they’re not gouging councils or ratepayers when they run those elections. But it’s not acceptable to have a three-hour wait just to cast your vote for a local council election.”

Chris Minns, Health Minister Ryan Park and member for Leppington Nathan Hagarty at Liverpool Hospital.Credit: Edwina Pickles

Carbone said Minns was forgetting the NSW Electoral Commission’s failures, including a recount of results in several council areas in 2022 after a mishap with the agency’s voting software.

“It’s just a Labor Party hit job,” Carbone said. “It’s clear his government has a problem with any council or any mayor who is willing to speak up.

“He’s trying to paint Labor’s problems as a consequence of who ran the election as opposed to their own failings. Minns and his state Labor MPs are always looking for a scapegoat.”

Carbone said Fairfield’s vote was issue-free, and the competition provided by private providers forced the state’s electoral agency to keep costs lower. Carbone was returned as mayor with nearly 80 per cent of the vote.

Meanwhile, Mayor Ned Mannoun alleged that the City of Sydney Council had been plagued by “two-hour waits at their polling booths” and said Minns and two Labor MPs who overlap with the Liverpool LGA, Charishma Kaliyanda and Nathan Hagarty, should be more focused on traffic issues affecting ratepayers.

“Minns, Hagarty, and Kaliyanda should be more concerned about people being stuck in traffic on 15th Avenue, Cowpasture Road, and Hoxton Park Road every day of their lives rather than waiting in line once every four years on election day,” he said.

Liverpool Council and Australian Election Company were contacted for comment.

Greens democracy spokesperson Kobi Shetty said her party would support the government if an amendment to outlaw private election providers were brought to parliament. However, she urged greater funding of the state’s electoral agency.

“We don’t think private operators running elections is a good idea,” she said.

Liberal shadow special minister of state Chris Rath declined to comment.

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