Western Australia’s Electoral Commissioner has promised an improved performance at future council polls after hundreds of candidates and voters were left waiting days for results from the weekend’s local government elections.
Key points:
- Results from local government elections held across WA on Saturday were delayed
- The switch to preferential voting and the direct election of mayors and shire presidents was a factor
- WA’s electoral commissioner has promised a smoother performance at future polls
Designed to boost engagement and accountability at council polls, recent Cook government reforms saw a statewide shift to optional preferential voting and the direct election of mayors and shire presidents, and a move away from ward structures at nearly all of the state’s 139 local governments.
But the result was chaos on the ground, with multiple communities accustomed to getting the results on the night forced to wait until this morning for a confirmed result.
WA Electoral Commissioner Robert Kennedy conceded the new process had been logistically challenging.
“The change to optional preferential voting has delayed the counting somewhat, but we did expect that to happen,” he said.
“Essentially, it’s the same system we use in [WA’s] Legislative Council — we were running over 200 legislative council elections around the state on Saturday, and they are not usually things that finish on the night.”
While the previous first-past-the-post system allowed for a relatively quick count, the allocation of preferences for both mayoral and council elections took significant time, Mr Kennedy said.
“It means a lot of papers needed to be physically entered into the computer before the results could be counted,” he said.
“There were a few bumps on the night, and some of those were at our end in terms of the hold-up.
“It will definitely run a lot smoother next time, it was a learning case for everyone involved.”
Long-serving mayors ousted
While the results may have taken longer than expected, a combination of the new voting system and multiple retirements means leadership across regional WA now looks remarkably different.
Preferences saw long-term mayors in Greater Geraldton and Karratha dumped after long-running terms in office.
In Geraldton, local councillor Jerry Clune trailed incumbent Shane Van Styn on the initial count, but edged ahead once preferences were allocated, winning by 200 votes.
First elected in 2015, Cr Van Styn’s colourful seven-year term saw him found not guilty of assaulting a man in the carpark of a Kalbarri Hotel, and launching an impassioned fight against a “ban” on board shorts and thongs at citizenship ceremonies.
In Karratha, Mayor Peter Long was defeated after 10 years in office and 12 on council in a similar fashion, leading on the first count, but defeated by Cr Dan Scott once preferences were allocated.
“I don’t like preferential voting at all … it’s not common across the world,” Mr Long said.
“Preferential voting gives an enormous amount of power to those who don’t have much representation otherwise.”
New mayors and some familiar faces
In Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Albany, the retirements of incumbents John Bowler and Dennis Wellington saw new mayors in both cities for the first time in a decade.
Deputy mayor and former breakfast radio host Glenn Wilson will take the mayor’s chain in Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
Cr Wilson said the delays added a level of disappointment to an otherwise positive weekend.
“But we also have to understand that it is a new system that will take a little bit of time to [get] better,” Cr Wilson said.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some feedback to the electoral commission in regards to how it was run and the whole process will get better.”
While the result in Albany was yet to be declared on Monday afternoon, Cr Greg Stocks held a comfortable lead over the rest of the field and was expected to be declared the winner.
Counting also remains ongoing in Busselton, where long-term Mayor Grant Henley has stepped down after eight years in office.
In Port Hedland, self-proclaimed “anti-corruption activist and political campaigner” Camillo Blanco will return to the mining town’s council.
Cr Blanco was mayor of Port Hedland when the entire council was dismissed by the Department of Local Government in 2019, following allegations of bullying, harassment and dysfunction.
He has since been an outspoken critic of the current council, including sitting Mayor Peter Carter.
Other polls saw Barnett government Minister Tony Simpson elected to council in Karratha, while one-term Liberal Member for Kalgoorlie Kyran O’Donnell was returned to Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s council for a second stint.
*Editor’s Note: Ivo Da Silva worked as returning officer for the Shire of Menzies at this year’s local government election