2024 North Sydney Council election

2024 North Sydney Council election

14 September 2024

All 10 seats on North Sydney Council
6 seats needed for a majority
Registered49,176[1]
Turnout79.8%
  First party Second party Third party
 
REAL
Leader Zoë Baker &
MaryAnn Beregi
Jessica Keen N/A
Party Real Independents Liberal Labor
Leader's seat St Leonards &
Cammeraygal
Cammeraygal
(won seat)
N/A
Last election 2 seats Did not contest 2 seats
Seats won 4 2 2
Seat change 2 2
Primary vote 11,825 6,084 5,981
Percentage 32.2% 16.5% 16.3%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
IND
Leader N/A William Bourke Angus Hoy
Party Independents Sustainable Greens
Leader's seat N/A St Leonards
(lost seat)
Cammeraygal
(won seat)
Last election 1 seat 2 seats Did not contest
Seats won 1 0 1
Seat change 2 1
Primary vote 4,708 3,308 2,304
Percentage 12.8% 9.0% 6.3%

Results by ward

The 2024 North Sydney Council election was held on 14 September 2024 to elect twelve councillors to the North Sydney Council.[2] The election was held as part of the statewide local government elections in New South Wales.[3]

The Real Independents doubled its seats to four, while the Liberal Party and the Labor Party won two seats each.[4][5]

Electoral system

Like in all other New South Wales local government areas (LGAs), North Sydney Council elections use optional preferential voting.[6] Under this system, voters are only required to vote for one candidate or group, although they can choose to preference other candidates.[7]

All elections for councillor positions are elected using proportional representation.[8] North Sydney has an Australian Senate-style ballot paper with above-the-line and below-the-line voting.[9] The council is divided into two wards, each electing five councillors.[2]

The election was conducted by the New South Wales Electoral Commission (NSWEC).[10][11]

Retiring councillors

Team Jilly

  • Jilly Gibson – announced 14 August 2024[12]

Candidates

On 14 August 2024, the day that candidates nominations closed, the Liberal Party revealed they had missed the deadline to nominate 164 candidates in 16 different LGAs.[13][14] This included all Liberal candidates in St Leonards Ward.[15][16]

The Liberals were endorsing candidates for North Sydney Council for the first time at this election and remained on the ballot in Cammeraygal Ward, where its ticket was led by former CommUnity 1st councillor Jessica Keen.[17][18]

Councillors Zoë Baker and MaryAnn Beregi led "The Real Independents" group.[19] Sustainable Australia councillor William Bourke contested the election in the second position on the party's St Leonards Ward ticket.[20][21]

Cammeraygal

St Leonards

Withdrawn candidates

Party Candidate Ward Details
Liberal Sophie Lambert St Leonards Candidate unable to contest because of missed candidacy deadline.[22]
Team Jilly Jilly Gibson Cammeraygal Initially announced plan to recontest but withdrew citing move to Mosman.[12]

Results

Ward results

2024 North Sydney Council election: Ward results
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  The Real Independents 11,825 32.2 4 2
  Liberal 6,084 16.5 2 2
  Labor 5,981 16.3 2
  Independents 4,708 12.8 1
  Sustainable Australia 3,308 9.0 0 2
  Greens 2,304 6.3 1 1
  CommUnity 1st 1,670 4.5 0 1
  Team Jilly 1,355 3.7 0 2
 Formal votes 36,762 93.7
 Informal votes 1,731 6.3
 Total 39,246 100.0 10
 Registered voters / turnout 49,176 79.8

Cammeraygal

2024 North Sydney Council election: Cammeraygal Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal 1. Jessica Keen (elected 1)
2. Efi Carr (elected 4)
3. Bryson Constable
4. Andrew Skinner
5. Hunter Wardman
6,084 31.8 +31.8
The Real Independents 1. MaryAnn Beregi (elected 2)
2. Katie Richmond
3. Ian Grey
4. Estelle Blair
5. Jillian Christie
3,361 17.6 +2.2
Labor 1. Shannon Welch (elected 3)
2. Travis Velingos
3. Christopher Lake
4. Merilyn Alt
5. Mathew Campbell
2,961 15.5 +0.0
Greens 1. Angus Hoy (elected 5)
2. Christopher Eddleston
3. Andrew Assaee
4. Graham Healy
5. Fuchsia Sims
2,304 12.0 +12.0
CommUnity 1st 1. Peter Noble
2. Ian Mutton
3. Joan Street
4. Julie Lee
5. Conway Restom
1,670 8.7 +8.7
Sustainable Australia 1. Sarah Kok
2. Bob Eggleton
3. Peter Moor
4. Mark Marsi
5. Anne Lytle
1,399 7.3 −3.4
Team Jilly 1. Pallavi Sinha
2. Strephon Billinghurst
3. Leonie Rothwell
4. Craig Black
5. Harshita Jyoti
6. Rajeswari Swaminathan
1,355 7.1 −18.2
Total formal votes 18,381 96.6
Informal votes 677 3.4
Turnout 19,811 78.3

St Leonards

2024 North Sydney Council election: St Leonards Ward
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
The Real Independents 1. Zoë Baker (elected 1)
2. Christopher Holding (elected 4)
3. Nicole Antonini (elected 5)
4. Diana Davidson
5. Rebecca McDonald
8,464 46.1 +20.4
Independent 1. James Spenceley (elected 2)
2. Daniel Whitford
3. Felicity Gardner
4. Deon Ludick
5. Christopher Neville
4,708 25.6 +6.9
Labor 1. Godfrey Santer (elected 3)
2. Jade Tyrrell
3. Rayna Brown
4. Julie Anne Newton
5. Olivia Lee
3,290 17.9 +0.0
Sustainable Australia 1. Michael Want
2. William Bourke
3. Susan Kitchener
4. John Heathers
5. Enzo Smith
1,919 10.4 −2.7
Total formal votes 18,381 94.6
Informal votes 1,054 5.4
Turnout 19,435 81.4

References

  1. ^ "Report on the administration of the 2024 NSW Local Government elections (Part 2)" (PDF). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 14 March 2025. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b Usher, Anna (20 August 2024). "Local Elections 2024: Your explainer for Mosman and North Sydney LGAs". Mosman Collective. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  3. ^ Segaert, Anthony (12 September 2024). "Everything you need to know about local council elections". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 November 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  4. ^ "Real Independents, Labor maintain control of NS Council following election". North Sydney Sun. 14 September 2024. Archived from the original on 27 October 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  5. ^ Barwell, David (16 September 2024). "2024 council election: How results will reshape north shore councils in coming four year term". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ "How votes are counted in a local government election". New South Wales Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  7. ^ Strong, Lynne (20 August 2024). "How the preference system works in NSW Local Government Elections". The Bugle News. Archived from the original on 13 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
  8. ^ Raue, Ben (29 October 2021). "The many party systems of NSW councils". The Tally Room. Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  9. ^ "NSW Local Government Elections Website". Antony Green's Election Blog. 22 November 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  10. ^ Ibrahim, Tony (1 September 2024). "Why Fairfield and Liverpool are the only councils in New South Wales to use a private contractor for their elections". ABC News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  11. ^ Maddison, Max (20 September 2024). "'A Labor Party hit job': Fury at move to outlaw private companies running council elections". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  12. ^ a b Usher, Anna (15 August 2024). "Shock News: Jilly Gibson moves to Mosman, withdraws from North Sydney election race". Mosman Collective. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  13. ^ Maddison, Max; Smith, Alexandra; Gorrey, Megan (14 August 2024). "NSW Liberals in chaos as party fails to nominate council candidates". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 14 August 2024. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  14. ^ Holmes, Dan (18 August 2024). "NSW Electoral Commission refuses Liberal Party extension". The Mandarin. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  15. ^ Lynch, Grahame (14 August 2024). "Liberal nomination stuff-up for North Sydney local gov't poll". North Sydney Sun. Archived from the original on 20 February 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  16. ^ Barwell, David (15 August 2024). "North Sydney, Lane Cove Liberal candidates speak after-party HQ failed to meet critical elections deadline". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ Raue, Ben (21 August 2024). "NSW council elections – the big party presence". The Tally Room. Archived from the original on 24 June 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Jessica Keen seeks return to Council as Liberal ticket lead". North Sydney Sun. 3 September 2024. Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  19. ^ "Real Independents want to continue progress of last two-and-a-half years". North Sydney Sun. 2 September 2024. Archived from the original on 2 March 2025. Retrieved 2 March 2025.
  20. ^ Lynch, Grahame (3 September 2024). "Sustainable Australia Party says only it can stand up to state government mandated over-development". North Sydney Sun. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  21. ^ Lynch, Grahame (5 September 2024). "Councillors refute Neutral Bay activist claim they are soft on over-development". North Sydney Sun. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 21 December 2025.
  22. ^ "NSW Liberal council election blunder: How your council is impacted". The Daily Telegraph. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)