2025 Central Darling Shire election

2025 Central Darling Shire election
20 September 2025
3 of the 6 seats on Central Darling Shire Council[a]
4 seats needed for a majority
Turnout484
  First party Second party Third party
 
IND
IND
IND
Party Independents Ind. National Ind. Indigenous
Last election 9 seats Did not contest Did not contest
Seats before 0 0 0
Seats won 2 1 0
Seat change 2 1
Primary vote 372 63 56
Percentage 79.0% 13.4% 11.9%
Largest elected group before election

In administration

 Largest elected group after election

Independents

The 2025 Central Darling Shire election was held on 20 September 2025 to elect the three elected members of Central Darling Shire Council, a local government area (LGA) in the Far West region of New South Wales.

The election was the first in over a decade after the council was placed into administration in 2014. The council has been reorganised to a "Regional and Remote Council" structure in which half the council is elected and the other half is appointed by the New South Wales Government.[1]

Background

Administration

Central Darling Shire was placed into administration in 2014 following numerous structural and financial issues.[2]

The LGA was planned to come out of administration at the 2020 local elections (which were delayed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), however the administration period was extended in 2019 by another 4 years.[3]

Bob Stewart served as administrator for 6 years and told the ABC that the council "lacked the governance processes, the systems [and] the financial capacity. We had to rebuild all that." Lack of inclusion of indigenous people in council planning was also flagged by him as a significant issue.[4]

Regional and Remote Council structure

The Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Act 2024, which amended the Local Government Act 1993, was passed by the New South Wales Parliament on the 19th of September 2024 and assented to on the 30th.[5]

This amendment created the Rural and Remote Council structure, which are composed of a mix of councillors elected by the citizens of the LGA and councillors appointed by the Minister for Local Government. These appointed councillors must have experience in local government administration, financial management, emergency management and governance, conservation, environmental sustainability and climate change adaption, and be able to represent the interests of the local Aboriginal population.[6]

The Minister is also responsible for appointing one of the appointed councillors as Chairperson of council, a role filled by the Mayor in other New South Wales LGAs. The office of Deputy Chairperson is elected by the council, in much the same way that Deputy Mayors are elected across the rest of the state.[7][8]

Election

On 18 June 2025, the New South Wales Office of Local Government announced an election date of 20 September alongside a $6 Million investment into the LGA over two years.[9]

Wards

The new council is composed of three single-member wards.[10][11]

A Ward B Ward C Ward
  • Wilcannia
  • Outlying rural electors north and east of Menindee

Key dates

  • Issue of writ –
  • Close of roll – 11 August 2025; 6pm
  • Nominations open – 11 August 2025
  • Postal vote applications open – 12 August 2025
  • Nominations close – 20 August 2025; 12 noon
  • Nominations declared – 21 August 2025
  • Pre-poll voting opens – 15 September 2025
  • Postal vote applications close – 15 September 2025
  • Election day – 20 September 2025; 8am – 6pm
  • Postal vote returns close – 10 October 2025; 6pm
  • Distribution of Preferences – 13 October 2025
  • Declaration of results – 14 October 2025[12]

Candidates

A Ward candidates

Party Candidate Notes
  Independent Indigenous-Aboriginal Owen Douglas Whyman Founder and Convenor of the Indigenous-Aboriginal Party of Australia. Lead Senate candidate in NSW at the 2022 federal elections and state candidate for Barwon in 2019.
  Independent Aunty Monica Jean Kerwin Barkandji woman and resident of The Mallee, Wilcannia.[13][14]
  Independent Rhonda Lee Hynch Chairperson of the Wilcannia Community Working Party and Chair of the Baaka Cultural Centre.[15][16]
  Independent Peter Geoffrey Sullivan Former Councillor and final Deputy Mayor before the council was placed into administration.[17]

B Ward candidates

Party Candidate Notes
  Independent National Maxwell James Bradley Ivanhoe resident. Member of the National Party.[18]
  Unaligned Robert Alister Vagg OAM Non-residential registered in Ivanhoe.[19] Former councillor of more than 30 years.[20]
  Independent Sacha-Rachelle Sullivan White Cliffs resident. International Business Owner & Operater.[21][22]
  Independent Fay Elizabeth Johnstone Ngiyampaa - Baarkintji woman and resident of Ivanhoe.[23]

Aboriginal Education Assistant at Invahoe Central School, Member of the Ivanhoe Health Advisory Council, and Board member of the Mount Grenfell Historic Site Management Committee. Former Director of the Murdi Paaki Regional Housing Board and the Western Aboriginal Legal Service.[24]

  Independent Peter Francis Crawford White Cliffs resident and handyman.[25][26]

C Ward candidates

Party Candidate Notes
  Independent Daniel John Fusi Menindee resident and teacher at Menindee Central School.[27][28][29][30][31]

Results

Central Darling results

Ward Elected councillor Party
A   Peter Sullivan Independent
B   Max Bradley Independent National
C   Daniel Fusi Independent
2025 Central Darling Shire election
Party Votes % Swing Seats Change
  Independents 372 79.0 2 2
  Independent National 63 13.4 +13.4 1 1
  Independent Indigenous-Aboriginal 56 11.9 +11.9 0
Total formal votes 471 97.3
Informal votes 13 2.7
Turnout 484
Registered voters

A Ward

2025 Central Darling Shire election:A Ward[32][33][34][35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Indigenous-Aboriginal Owen Whyman 56 27.5
Independent Monica Kerwin 44 21.6
Independent Rhonda Hynch 30 14.7
Independent Peter Sullivan 74 36.3
Total formal votes 204 97.1
Informal votes 6 2.9
Turnout 210
Two-candidate-preferred result
Independent Peter Sullivan 91 51.1
Ind. Indigenous-Aboriginal Owen Whyman 87 48.9
Peter Sullivan win  

B Ward

2025 Central Darling Shire election:B Ward[32][18][36][37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent National Max Bradley 63 23.6
Unaligned Robert Vagg 57 21.3
Independent Sacha-Rachelle Sullivan 59 22.1
Independent Fay Johnstone 54 20.2
Independent Peter Crawford 34 12.7
Total formal votes 267 97.4
Informal votes 7 2.6
Turnout 274
Two-candidate-preferred result
Independent National Max Bradley 93 53.1
Independent Sacha-Rachelle Sullivan 82 46.9
Independent National win  

C Ward

2025 Central Darling Shire election:C Ward[32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Independent Daniel Fusi unopposed
Registered electors
Daniel Fusi win  

Notes

  1. ^ Central Darling Shire Council will assume the structure of a Rural and Remote Council following the election. This structure consists of 3 elected members and 3 members appointed by the NSW Government.

References

  1. ^ "20 September 2025 Council Election - information". www.centraldarling.nsw.gov.au. Central Darling Shire Council. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ^ "Central Darling Shire heads to polls for historic vote". Inside Local Government. 19 September 2025. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  3. ^ Declan Gooch (4 October 2019). "Central Darling Shire to remain under administration until 2024 marking a decade without elected councillors". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Broken Hill. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  4. ^ Katherine Spackman (20 September 2025). "Remote NSW council holds election after 12 years in administration". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Broken Hill. Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 17 July 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  6. ^ "Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024 9. Appointed councillors" (PDF). www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  7. ^ "Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024 10. Chairperson of council" (PDF). www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Local Government Amendment (Rural and Remote Councils) Bill 2024 11. Deputy Chairperson of council" (PDF). www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Parliament of New South Wales. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  9. ^ "Historic election date set for Central Darling Shire as NSW Government commits $6 million in support". www.olg.nsw.gov.au. NSW Office of Local Government. 18 June 2025. Archived from the original on 20 July 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  10. ^ "Media-Release-Council-Ward-Boundaries Answering questions about Shire ward boundaries" (PDF). www.centraldarling.nsw.gov.au. Central Darling Shire. 26 July 2024. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  11. ^ "Central-Darling Ward-Boundaries Map A3 2024" (PDF). www.centraldarling.nsw.gov.au. Central Darling Shire. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  12. ^ "2025 Central Darling Shire Council election What are the key dates?". elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  13. ^ Oliver Brown (16 March 2025). "Mosaic headstones help people work through grief for lost loved ones". ABC News. ABC Broken Hill. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Mapping the Digital Gap Research Project - Wilcannia 2023 Community Update Report" (PDF). www.admscentre.org.au. ADM+S Centre. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Wilcannia CWP". www.mpra.com.au. Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly. Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  16. ^ Bill Ormonde (18 August 2023). "Ground finally broken for Wilcannia's unique emu foot-shaped Baaka Cultural Centre". ABC News. ABC Broken Hill. Archived from the original on 1 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  17. ^ Eugene Boisvert (18 September 2018). "Central Darling Shire mayor re-elected unopposed". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Part C-Candidate information sheet MAXWELL JAMES BRADLEY" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  19. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet ROBERT ALLISTER VAGG" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  20. ^ Eugene Boisvert (28 January 2013). "Locals honoured for service to communities". Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet SACHA-RACHELLE SULLIVAN" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  22. ^ "Sacha Sullivan". www.thomasexecutive.com.au. Thomas Executive. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  23. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet FAY ELIZABETH JOHNSTONE" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  24. ^ "Ivanhoe Fay Johnstone". www.mpra.com.au. Murdi Paaki Regional Assembly. Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  25. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet PETER FRANCIS CRAWFORD" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  26. ^ "Roo drops into outback motel". btn. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 July 2019. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  27. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet Daniel John Fusi" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
  28. ^ "Menindee Central School Our Staff". menindee-c.schools.nsw.gov.au. Menindee Central School. Archived from the original on 16 May 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  29. ^ "Lyn interviews Daniel at Menindee Central School". menindee.storylines.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  30. ^ "Menindee Central school a beacon of hope amid misery in outback NSW". news.com.au. 14 October 2013. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  31. ^ "2023 Reconciliation Award winners announced". University News. University of Newcastle. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  32. ^ a b c "2025 Central Darling Shire Council election - Who are the candidates?". elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  33. ^ "Part C-Candidate information sheet OWEN DOUGLAS WHYMAN" (PDF). elections.nsw.gov.au. NSW Electoral Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 September 2025. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  34. ^ "Central Darling Local Government Election 20-SEP-2025 First Preference Votes Report Councillor Election: Central Darling - Central Darling A". electoral commission nsw (results.elections.nsw.gov.au). NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  35. ^ "Central Darling Local Government Election 20-SEP-2025 Distribution of Preferences Report Councillor Election: Central Darling - Central Darling A". electoral commission nsw (results.elections.nsw.gov.a). New South Wales Electoral Commission. 13 October 2025. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  36. ^ "Central Darling Local Government Election 20-SEP-2025 First Preference Votes Report Councillor Election: Central Darling - Central Darling B". electoral commission nsw (results.elections.nsw.gov.au). NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  37. ^ "Central Darling Local Government Election 20-SEP-2025 Distribution of Preferences Report Councillor Election: Central Darling - Central Darling B". electoral commission nsw (results.elections.nsw.gov.au). NSW Electoral Commission. 13 October 2025. Archived from the original on 13 October 2025. Retrieved 13 October 2025.
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