As previously reported, a disastrous administrative error has left Lane Cove Council and seven other NSW local council areas without any Liberal candidates and another eight councils with only some of the Liberal Party pre-selected candidates.
Numerous Liberal party insiders have described the error as “a major stuff up.”
The date and cut-off time to submit nomination forms for election in the NSW local government elections was noon on 14 August 2024. This information has been on the NSW Electoral Commission website since at least 1 July 2024 under their Key Dates Timeline – click here to see the timeline.
Set out below is a timetable of events relating to the Lane Cove Liberal Candidates.
May 2024
Liberal Party members submitted pre-selection forms to the Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division office (State Liberal Office).
Pre Selection Forms were submitted by the following:
Central Ward – Katherine Mort (current Liberal Councillor)
East Ward – Hamish Stitt
(ITC Note: current Liberal Council David Brooks Horn was to be number three on the ticket after he decided not to seek pre-selection as the number one East Ward Liberal-endorsed candidate. David has been a councillor for over 16 years)
West Ward – Mayor Scott Bennison, now an independent after he resigned from the Liberal party on 13 August 2024, and Rory Burke, Liberal Party Member and Electorate Officer for the Hon. Anthony Roberts MP.
Each candidate had to pay an application fee, which ITC understands was around $1,500.00. In addition, each applicant had to pay for checks, such as police checks.
July 2024
The Lane Cove NSW Liberal Party meets to endorse their candidate for Lane Cove West—it was the only ward where more than one person was seeking Liberal pre-selection.
Before the last Council election, Mayor Scott Bennison was pre-selected unopposed.
The Lane Cove Liberal Party branch voted 49 to 15 to endorse Rory Burke as their candidate for Lane Cove West Ward.
Lane Cove Liberal Party-endorsed candidates were advised that the State Liberal Office would lodge the NSW Electoral Commission forms. Individual candidates were not permitted to lodge their forms.
13th August 2024 – mid-evening
Lane Cove Liberal pre-selected candidates are emailed nomination forms to be filled out and witnessed by justices of the peace. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Lane Cove Candidates were at the State Liberal Office after 11 p.m. on August 13, 2024 (click here to read the article—it is paywalled).
14th August 2024
The State Liberal Office misses the deadline for lodging nomination forms with the NSW Electoral Commission for approximately 140 candidates including all Liberal-endorsed candidates in the Lane Cove Council Area.
15th August 2024 – Morning
Mayor Scott Bennison was interviewed by Ben Fordham on 2GB and advised that he had sent a letter resigning from the Liberal Party two days before the interview. 2GB promotes the interview as Liberal Mayor Quits live on radio—you can hear the interview here.
15th August 2024 – 2 PM
The NSW Electoral Commission conducts ballot draw. No Liberal-endorsed candidates are on the ballot paper for the Lane Cove Local Government area.
The following candidates will be standing for election in the Lane Cove Government Areas (the list below appears in ward order and as per the ballot paper)
17th August 2024
The Liberal Party’s State President sends a letter to the NSW Electoral Commissioner requesting the nomination period’s cut-off date be extended by a week to 21 August 2024.
The Acting NSW Electoral Commissioner, Matthew Phillips, rejects the request to extend the nomination period.
18th August 2024
The State Liberal Office releases the following statement to the media.
“The Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division is calling on the NSW Electoral Commission to urgently reconsider its decision to refuse a request to extend the deadline for nominations for the 2024 NSW Local Government Elections following its own admission that it made an error and did not comply with the timeframe to provide formal notice under its own regulation before closing nominations.
Last Friday, State President Don Harwin wrote to the NSW Electoral Commission to request that it extend the deadline for the closing of nominations for the 2024 NSW Local Government Elections because of the error that it had made. The NSW Electoral Commission refused this reasonable request.
In its response, the NSW Electoral Commission admitted to a significant error in the lead-up to the 2024 NSW Local Government Elections, which could have serious consequences for the democratic process.
In its Election Notice dated 9 August 2024, the NSW Electoral Commission wrongly published the formal notification of the election and called for nomination proposals five days before the close for nominations, instead of the required minimum of seven days as mandated by clause 288(1) of the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021 (NSW).
This mistake is not just a technicality—it goes to the heart of ensuring a fair and transparent election.
Despite acknowledging this error, the NSW Electoral Commission has chosen not to extend the nomination deadline by seven days, a simple remedy well within its powers under clause 286 of the same regulation. The Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division has urged the NSW Electoral Commission to urgently reconsider this decision.
“The Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division is deeply concerned that the NSW Electoral Commission, which is entrusted with the integrity of our elections, would refuse to take the necessary steps to correct its own error. This is about more than just a date—it’s about the NSW Electoral Commission’s responsibility to ensure that the electoral process is conducted fairly and without avoidable complications.
Should the NSW Electoral Commission fail to act, the Liberal Party of Australia NSW Division will be left with no other option but to pursue legal avenues to compel it to extend the nomination deadline. Urgent action is the only way to potentially preserve the 14 September 2024 election date and potentially avoid wasting taxpayers’ money and resources.
The integrity of our democracy is at stake. Voters across NSW deserve the right to choose from a full range of candidates, including those endorsed by the Liberal Party, rather than being limited to an economically reckless Labor Party or a radical Greens agenda. Not allowing Liberal-endorsed candidates back on the ballot is bad for our democracy.
The ball is now in the NSW Electoral Commission’s court. The integrity of the 2024 NSW Local Government Elections depends on the Commission’s willingness to correct its mistake and ensure that the integrity of the democratic process is maintained.”
18th August 2024 – Mid Afternoon
The NSW Electoral Commission releases the following statement in response.
“The Liberal Party of Australia, New South Wales Division requested an extension of the nomination period from Wednesday, 14 August until Wednesday, 21 August citing a delayed publication of a formal election notice on the NSW Electoral Commission website and concerns that the nomination forms did not reflect requirements set out in legislation.
The Electoral Commissioner for New South Wales (acting), Dr Matthew Phillips, yesterday considered the correspondence and the grounds for the request. On the basis of the available information, the Commissioner was not satisfied that it is possible to lawfully extend the nomination period in line with the request and, even if it were, it would not be appropriate to do so given the very significant ramifications it would have for the conduct of the elections.
Additional correspondence from the Liberal Party of Australia, New South Wales Division was received by the Commissioner today. He has reviewed the information and communicated to the party his decision remains unchanged.
The Commissioner accepts a formal election notice was published on the NSW Electoral Commission’s website 5 days prior to close of nominations, rather than 7 days. However, the Commissioner had widely publicised the nomination date and related information on the NSW Electoral Commission’s website, as well as through state-wide advertising via print and social media months in advance of the nomination date. It had also communicated this information directly to parties and candidates on numerous occasions since May 2024.
The Commission first published the nomination date on its website in October 2023. The Commissioner does not consider there could have been a realistic possibility that officials of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party of Australia, or persons proposing to run as candidates endorsed by that party, could have been unaware of the nomination day or of the processes by which nominations could be made.
On Sunday, the Commissioner said the delivery of the election was the focus of his agency.
“The NSW Electoral Commission staff remains focused on the delivery of the elections. Our Returning officers are in place across the state and the election period is now in full swing with ballot paper production underway. Full details about the election, including candidates in ballot paper order can be found on our website,” Dr Phillips said.”
Copies of letters sent to the State Liberal Office by the Acting NSW Electoral Commissioner are here.
20 August 2024 – evening
Liberal Party Members are informed that the party sought legal advice from Dr James Renwick SC and Brendan Lim.
The State Liberal Office, after considering the advice, decides not to commence legal action on the following three grounds:
- The uncertainty of the outcome.
- The possible cost; and
- The possible effect on the campaigns of the nearly 300 Liberal candidates who have been nominated for the local government elections and are campaigning hard for victory.
Brian Loughnane, AO, has been requested to review the State Office processes concerning candidate selection and nominations in the State Office.
Liberal Party State Members of Parliament Response
On Monday, 19th August, 2024, ITC was covering the opening of the new Metro and had the opportunity to speak to NSW Parliamentary Liberal Party Leader Mark Speakman.
We asked him for a comment on the nomination failure.
He told ITC:
“I am devastated for the candidates who missed out, for the community, for their families, and for the voters.” He did not comment on the reasons behind the nomination failure.
ITC spoke to the Liberal Local member for Lane Cove, Anthony Roberts, who told ITC:
“I am devastated that Lane Cove voters will not be able to vote for a liberal party candidate. It is a catastrophic failure impacting the democratic process. People need to be held accountable for the failure to nominate, and I will continue to make my position very public that the people responsible for this failure need to go.”
Local Reaction
ITC has spoken to several current councillors and candidates, who have all expressed that the administrative blunder is not a good outcome, as a range of views is needed for effective democracy.
Bronnie Deane, (Labor Candidate in Central Ward) posted the following on In the Cove Facebook page:
“As much as it pains me to write this as a Labor member, this news is a real shame. We need diversity within our council to reflect the wide range of views in our community.”
The Liberals nomination failure overshadowed the other news that former Mayor and two-term Councillor Andrew Zbik will not be standing for re-election.
In a statement on his website Andrew Zbik said:
“It has been my absolute honour to serve the Lane Cove community for the last seven years as a Councillor, and nearly two years as Mayor.
After consulting with my family and our Labor team, I have decided not to run in next month’s local elections. At this stage of my life, I have chosen to prioritise spending time with my wife and three young children, aged 9, 7, and 4.”
Read Andrew Zbik’s full statement here.
