Labor fears council results spell trouble for PM before federal election

NSW Labor strategists have warned that the party’s local government results in key south-western Sydney councils spell trouble for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ahead of next year’s federal election, as the war in Gaza became a flashpoint for voters.

However, the Minns Labor government was spared a major backlash to its signature housing density push, helped by a depleted Liberal Party, which failed to nominate 140 candidates in 16 councils.

There was a mix of themes that emerged in Saturday’s local government elections, which included the Greens going backwards in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, where the party has traditionally been strong. Its vote remained strong in Byron Bay, while it made gains in areas such as Blacktown.

Clover Moore at Wimbo Park on Sunday after securing her sixth term as Sydney lord mayor.Credit: Oscar Colman

In the City of Sydney, Lord Mayor Clover Moore will spend the next four years succession planning after conceding on Sunday this would be her last term leading the city.

After claiming an unprecedented sixth term, Moore was asked whether there would be another “Clover election”. “I don’t think there will be,” Moore said.

She said she still had plenty of work to finish in the city, including the revitalisation of Oxford Street and delivering a “very large capital works program”, but would also start succession planning to “pass the baton to a strong, independent, community-based independent”.

NSW Labor was bracing for brickbats from voters in Canterbury-Bankstown over the federal party’s position on Palestine, and while the results were ultimately better than expected, the ALP suffered a 10 per cent swing against them in the Bankstown ward, which has a high proportion of Muslim voters.

In Cumberland, there was also clear anger towards Labor from voters in wards with large Muslim populations, although because the Liberals did not contest that council at the 2021 election, there was a disproportionate impact on swings.

A senior NSW Labor strategist, who asked for anonymity in order to speak freely, said the party “had been sent a clear message on the Middle East but also more broadly”.

“There is no doubt that Gaza played a big part in our results in south-western Sydney,” they said.

Community anger at the ALP’s handling of the war in Gaza could put federal seats such as Watson, held by Labor’s leader of the house Tony Burke, Blaxland (Education Minister Jason Clare) and Werriwa (Anne Stanley) at risk.

A second senior Labor campaigner said the local government elections served as a litmus test on whether voters would punish federal Labor for its stance in the Middle East conflict.

“It is pretty clear that we took a hit on Gaza, but there would be other factors like cost of living,” the campaigner said. “On the booths, there was an anti-Albo sentiment.”

The Liberal parliamentary party had hoped the council elections would serve as a referendum on Premier Chris Minns’ housing policies, but while the party made gains in Ryde, there was no major protest vote fuelled by NIMBYs, the Labor campaigner said.

“Some might have expected there would be a rejection of our housing policy but that hasn’t played out,” the campaigner said.

In Burwood, Mayor John Faker – who supports increased housing around transport hubs in town centres – increased his primary vote to almost 70 per cent, making him one of the city’s most popular mayors.

“On the booths, young people were telling me they want more housing and what I say to them is yes, we need tall towers in town centres so we can protect our suburbs from sprawl,” Faker said.

“We need housing density but let’s do it right and the key to that is design and protecting heritage.”

The Liberal-aligned candidate Mandeep Singh, who was on the ballot paper after submitting his own nomination instead of waiting for the Liberal party to do so, was elected as an independent to the Pittwater ward of Northern Beaches Council.

Mandeep Singh made the rookie error of submitting his own nomination forms and got elected.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Northern Beaches Council was one of the worst hit by the Liberals’ administrative debacle.

Manly Liberal MP James Griffin said the result for Singh had given the party renewed hope they would be able to hold Pittwater in next month’s byelection.

“The vote for the Liberal-aligned council candidate in Pittwater was a thumping result with nearly 42 per cent of the vote going his way,” Griffin said.

“The result sends a strong message that Pittwater voters don’t want teal and Labor excuses, they want real action on cost of living pressures. We are going to put forward a positive campaign in Pittwater and we have a great candidate in Georgia Ryburn.”

Ryburn was deputy mayor of Northern Beaches but was denied a chance to run in Saturday’s election because her nomination was not submitted on time.

She has been preselected to contest Pittwater, which was vacated by former MP Rory Amon who is facing child sex assault charges, which he denies.

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