The NSW Electoral Commission has confirmed that voters in the local government areas of Kempsey, Singleton and Shellharbour Ward A will return to the polls on July 30.
Key points:
- July 30 will host new local council elections for Kempsey, Singleton and Shellharbour Ward A
- Rehearsals were called after a court ruled that a problem with the iVote system meant that the election was void.
- Mayors and councilors are disappointed and angry because they have to go through other elections
Earlier this year, the NSW Supreme Court ruled out the results of the 2021 council election in all three council areas due to a malfunction of the iVote system.
The Electoral Commission appealed to the court to annul the election results after the online voting system crashed during the December elections.
Shellharbour and Kempsey City Councilors have called on Local Government Minister Wendy Tuckerman to postpone the election until 2024.
Although the election of Kempsey Mayor Leo Hauville was not contested by the Electoral Commission, the eight councilors will be re-elected.
“I am very disappointed and angry because we all have to go through this again, as the community would do,” he said.
“I have spoken to the Local Government Councilor, along with the mayors of the other two affected councils, and we were expecting a more positive outcome, but this will not be the case.”
The new elections will be held after the Supreme Court ruled that a problem with the iVote system meant that elections to three council areas were null and void. (ABC News: Lauren Pezet)
In the Kempsey Shire Council election there were 34 voters who were unable to vote due to the failure of iVote.
“I’m angry about the cost and the trauma … that councilors feel they have to go through it all over again,” Hauville said.
“It’s not easy to run for public office, you’re sure to stand out and expect people to vote for you.
“There is also the possibility that people will not vote for you, so there is this psychological concern. They really feel the pain.
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“All this has to be done again, unfortunately.”
‘The blind’
Nominations for the election will open on June 20 and close at noon on June 29. (ABC Mid North Coast: Luisa Rubbo)
The NSW opposition said the government was unaware of what the community wanted after announcing dates for new council elections.
Local government opposition spokesman Greg Warren said the community had not been heard.
“This announcement has been made without due consideration [nor] appropriate consultations with those relevant communities that are affected, “he said.
“The reality is that mayors, councilors and local communities have gone blind to this announcement.
“The government just doesn’t know what they’re doing.”
Warren said the minister had not taken appropriate action.
“What we are seeing from the minister and the government is a continuing pattern of ignorance that is discounting these local communities and frankly I am not even sure the government and the minister know what to do here,” he said.
“That’s why the communities have been left in the dark, that’s why the councils and councilors have gone blind.”
NSW Local Government Minister Wendy Tuckerman has been contacted for comment.