Northern Rivers Election results to date

By Samantha Elley

NSW voted for their council representatives over the weekend and while results aren’t finalised, we have compiled the results so far at time of printing (Monday 16th of September).

Ballina

Residents of the coastal local government area showed they have been happy with the work Sharon Cadwallader has been doing as mayor. She is currently sitting at 45.08% of the vote with her nearest rival, the Greens Kiri Dicker. a long way back at 25.79%

A ward favourites include the Greens Erin Karsten on 20.73%, Independent Damian Loone following closely at 17.35% and ALP’s Maria Marshall on 14.07%, although Independent’s Kevin Loughrey is close on her heels at 13.52%.

B ward has larger margins with Sharon Cadwallader taking 36.12% of the vote then Kiri Dicker, much closer than in the mayoral race at 31.34%. After that the closest candidate is ALP’s Andrew Broadley on 11.65%.

C ward has the Greens Simon Chate leading the chase on 36.21%, followed by Independent Simon Kinny on 28.47% and another Independent These Crollick on 15.12%

Byron

Current mayor Michael Lyon’s recent public issues are reflected in the sad results of his race to get back in the top job, with his mayoral vote hitting a paltry 17.29% compared to Sarah Ndiaye of the Greens who is sitting on 34.71%. However, there is a chance ALP’s Asren Pugh is not discounted yet with 30.37% of the vote.

The Greens also have a chance of strong representation on council as Group D holds 40.22% of votes for their council candidates, followed by the ALP at 27.95%.

Kyogle

While it has been tradition that elected councillors in Kyogle voted for the mayor, residents of this inland local government area had the extra task of deciding in a referendum question, whether or not they wanted a popularly elected mayor and a reduction in the ward numbers or the status quo. Results at time of printing were not available.

A ward’s most popular candidate thus far is Brett McNamara with 31.15% of the vote, followed by Kieran Somerville with 26.67% and long-standing councillor Janet Wilson at 18.40%.

B ward’s winning candidate is currently Olivia Taylor with 34.03%, then current councillor John Burley 25% and Robert Cullen on 19.29%.

In C ward popular councillor and previous mayor Danielle Mulholland holds 40.88% of the vote with Tom Cooper on 21.06% coming second and Robin Harley on 13.63% holding the bronze.

Lismore

There is no doubting the popularity of current mayor Steve Krieg who looks like holding his seat with 48.38% of the vote, trailed by the Greens Vanessa Grindon-Ekins on 21.13%.

The Independent Group A look like, not only getting their mayor back in but will fill a few seats around the council table with 42.39% of votes.

They are followed by the Greens Group D with 26.77% and ALP’s Group B holding 18.77%.

Richmond Valley

It looks like business as usual for the Richmond Valley with mayor Robert Mustow holding a comfortable lead to retain his role on 38.93%. He was given a run for his money by newcomer Lyndall Murray in the early part of counting before she settled around 27.17%.

There should be a mixture of new and old faces on council with Group D, led by the current mayor, Robert Mustow receiving 41.42% of the vote and newcomers, with Lyndall Murray, Group C, second with 25.69%. Group A led by previous Richmond Valley general manager, John Walker obtained a healthy 20.51%.

Tweed

A large number of parties were vying for all council positions with the current group with most votes being the Liberals with 28.74%. ALP are a comfortable second on 14.96% and Independent Group A, led by current mayor, Chris Cherry in third with 13.42%.

To keep up to date with the Northern Rivers Elections Results, click here.

For more local elections news, click here.

Clarence Valley Orchestra Medical Student Scholarship

The Clarence Valley Orchestra (CVO) is proud to announce their first scholarship candidate for their new Rural Medical Student Scholarship worth $5,000 to Mattea Lazarou in Grafton.

Mattea says, “I have been fortunate enough to complete the beginnings of my medical education as part of the Graduate School of Medicine at University of Wollongong. With a strong focus in contributing to the health and wellbeing of rural Australia, the program sees students undertake a year-long placement within a rural community. With personal connections to the local community, I was thrilled to be placed in the Clarence Valley to complete this stage of my training. It is through my placement in Grafton and surrounds, that my own passion for practising rural health and contributing to the wellbeing of rural communities was encouraged. It was a privilege not only to be surrounded by enthusiastic mentors and teachers within the hospital setting, but to connect with and hear the stories of community members, both within the hospital and beyond. I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to return to the Clarence Valley in this latter half of the year and undertake additional experience in both Grafton and Maclean hospitals. I am grateful to complete this final stage of training with the support of the Clarence Valley Orchestra’s generous scholarship. I look forward to returning to Grafton to work as a doctor throughout my career to give back to the community that has showed me so much kindness and opportunity”.

The University of Wollongong’s Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine, Professor Zsuzsoka Kecskes has commented that “we are very excited about the recent awarding of the first Clarence Valley Orchestra Medical Scholarship and would like to once again congratulate Mattea on her successful application. In times when living costs continue to rise, it’s vital for our students to have external support and encouragement to stay on track toward their dream careers and to feel the impact their efforts can have on our communities. We want to express our gratitude to the Clarence Valley Orchestra for their incredible support – our partnership is a fantastic example of how community efforts can uplift and empower future generations.”

The idea of Artistic Director and Conductor of the CVO Dr Greg Butcher, says “the Orchestra is thrilled and has agreed to keep the $5,000 scholarship going over the next 2 years (3 years in total) as a way of ‘thinking outside the box’, hopefully attracting GPs to the Clarence Valley and wider area in the future. These scholarships along with other major community donations are funded from tickets sales from the orchestra’s major concerts. CVO’s next concert, An Afternoon at The Pops, will be their 10^th anniversary and will be on Sunday 27^th October at the Saraton Theatre Grafton, performing with the Comedy Trio the Kransky Sisters, with compere comedian Anthony Ackroyd”.

For more local Clarence Valley news, click here.

Preferences will be vital in Clarence poll

By Tim Howard

Some of your candidates don’t want anything to do with them, others wish they could ignore them and some will live and die for them.

They’re preferences and they are what are troubling the minds of a good number of candidates as time ticks away toward Saturday’s Clarence Valley Council election.

We talked with former Clarence Valley Council deputy mayor and election tragic Craig Howe about how preferences could play out in this year’s vote.

Mr Howe, who served two terms on council and finished as deputy mayor in 2016, has been happy to step away from local government, but he maintains a fascination with the electoral process.

At each local government election since 2016 he’s created and moderated a Facebook pages, Clarence Valley meet the candidates, where people can ask candidates pertinent questions about their reasons for running.

The page also runs mock poll where people can “vote” for their candidate of choice. But more on that later.

Mr Howe said the 2024 poll differs from any of the elections he has contested or witnessed since 2008.

“I can’t see there being a ‘Richie vote’,” he said, referring to the wildly popular vote the current Clarence MP Richie Williamson attracted when he stood for council from 2005 to 2021.

“When Richie left in 2021, people wondered who was going to pull those big numbers and it was Jeff Smith.”

He said the crucial thing was candidates reaching their quota.

The quota is determined by first dividing the aggregate number of formal first preferences by one more than the number of candidates to be elected. The quotient (disregarding the fraction) is increased by 1 to give the quota.

The NSW Electoral Commission has the number of electors in Clarence standing at 41,890.

In the voting system used in local elections once a candidate reach his or her quota the preferences were distributed to other candidates. Continued candidates also received the preferences of candidates who were eliminated during counting.

Former Clarence Valley Council deputy Mayor Craig Howe has cast his eyes over the field for the 2024 Clarence Valley Council elections and thinks preferences will play a bigger than usual part in deciding who will be on the next council.

Mr Howe said it anyone was going to poll big numbers this year it would most likely be someone well known in Grafton.

“Jeff Smith got it, and that’s because he owned the ice cream shop in Prince Street,” he said.

“You got a lot of votes from Grafton, and Grafton the big voter base, you know. So that that’s why I think Ray Smith might be a chance to pull in those sort of numbers.”

But Mr Howe said while this year Ray Smith and shared a surname, the recognition factor might not be the same.

“He hasn’t been around for a while, either, so maybe, you know, the younger people don’t necessarily know him,” he said.

He said Greg Clancy might be a chance to poll well, but he doubted if the numbers would as high as Williamson’s or Smith’s in previous elections.

But he said a new candidate might consider joining a ticket with someone like Dr Clancy, who has served two terms on the council.

Mr Howe said if you looked at the how to vote choice of candidate Mellissa Hellwig and Lynne Cairns you could see that pattern.

“Greg’s in one, Hellwig two, and Lynne Cairns three.” He said. “But then, if you look at Hellwig, she’s gone her one, and then Lynne Cairns at two, which what they’re hoping will happen is Greg’s preferences will flow from him to Hellwig, and then she’ll get her quota, and then the rest of them will find Greg’s will flow down to them.”

But Mr Howe said these ideas were conditional on candidates reaching their quotas, which might not happen.

He said there a lot of candidates from down river, who would be contesting a smaller voter base.

“It might not shape up this way at all,” Mr Howe said. “Voters might decide they want a balanced council and decide to pick someone from the conservative side and some from the not-so-conservative side.

“So then you have someone like Cristie Yager or Amanda Brien. Where do they fit into that.

“It could be the preferences don’t follow the how to vote cards and go everywhere.”

Mr Howe said his Facebook poll had been disappointing so far, with about 35 votes cast.

“It’s too small to be a really good sample at the moment,” he said.

“But even in 35 votes you can see a trend and at the moment some of those trends are very interesting and might worry a few candidates.”

Pushed to tip who he thought might make the council this year, Mr Howe said Ulmarra’s Cristie Yager was his bolter.

“She’s done very well getting recognition on social media and I like what she’s saying’ he said.

“She seems to be a person who cares about people and that’s what people want.”

Of the incumbents he thinks the Mayor Peter Johnstone would be re-elected, despite his rocky start to the leadership role.

He thought Steve Pickering and Debrah Novak were also likely to be re-elected but thought some of the incumbents might struggle.

“With the ones that retired this time, there could be five maybe even six new faces on council when the counting’s down,” he said.

For more local elections and Clarence preferences news, click here.