This page will feature information and news about the Local Government Elections to be held on 13 September 2008. You will find information about:
Final results for Palerang
Five new councillors – including three women – will take their place in the new Palerang Council following the finalisation of vote counting by the NSW Electoral Commission on Tuesday 23 September.
The new councillors, in order of election are:
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Catherine Moore
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Ian Marjason
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Richard Graham
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Judith Miller
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Howard Crozier
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Terry Bransdon
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Judith Turley
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Paul Cockram
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Walter Raynolds
Catherine Moore's Group C ticket polled 21.07% of the first preference vote, followed by Ian Marjason's Group A ticket with 21.01% of the first preference vote. This saw the second-listed candidates from each ticket, Turley and Crozier, elected following the distribution of preferences.
Independent candidate Richard Graham polled a remarkable 919 first preference votes, 12.5% of the total 7730 formal votes cast.
Judith Miller was the first candidate on the Group D ticket and with group and personal votes, obtained a quota in her own right. During the count Terry Bransdon, who started the count with 617 first preference individual and group votes, primarily benefitted from preferences from eliminated candidates on his own ticket to get across the line.
Independent candidates Paul Cockram and Walter Raynolds ended the count with 564 and 559 votes respectively. Raynolds' total was increased by 184 votes transferred to him when former Councillor Mark Horan was eliminated from the count. The last three candidates were Cockram, Raynolds and Anne Goonan. Of the three remaining candidates, Goonan had the lowest number of votes (454 votes) and was eliminated from the final count.
Full results are now available from the NSW Electoral Commission website. The Final Count Reports from the computerised counting process are available in PDF format.
A total of 7300 formal ballots were cast, resulting in a quota of 731 required for success. 422, informal votes were cast (5%). 9,424 voters are enrolled in Palerang, thus there was an 82% voter turnout. Voting in Local Government elections is compulsory. Voters who were absent from the area on election day and did not cast a pre-poll or postal vote may avoid the $55 fine by applying to be excused for failing to vote.
The new Council will meet for the first time on Thursday, 2 October at 6 pm in Bungendore. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor will be elected at this meeting.
What happened locally at the Burra polling station?
 448 ballots were cast at the Burra polling station in the Burra Hall. 16 of those ballots were deemed to be informal votes, leaving 432 valid votes. 253 ballots used above-the-line voting, approximately 59%.
Kevin Fiebig's Group E polled only 98 above-the-line votes out of a possible 432 valid votes cast at the Burra Polling Station and was topped by Ian Marjason's Group A, who attracted 103 of the Burra above-the-line votes.
Group E polled only 42 below-the-line first preference votes at the Burra polling station. Group Leader Kevin Feibig achieved 31 personal votes, followed by Nivan Lau (6 votes), Nerida Hart (3 votes), Alan Schmidt (2 votes) and Mike Jaggard (0 votes).
Royalla resident Rick Sullivan, 4th candidate on Ian Marjason's Group A secured 20 first prefence votes at the Burra booth. In total, Group A members achieved a total of 50 below-the-line first preference votes at Burra.
Group E's lack of success on home territory where they would have been expected to poll strongly can be attributed, in part, to the fact that all rival Group tickets and some ungrouped candidates had representatives on duty all day handing out how-to-vote cards at the Burra polling station. By contrast, representatives of Group E were absent for most of the day. The group had not registered how-to-vote cards with the NSWEC, and was therefore unable to hand out anything to assist prospective voters on polling day.
Didn't vote in the Palerang Elections?
Of the
9,424 enrolled Palerang voters, only
6,421 cast a vote on election day, Saturday 13 September.
With absentee voting not available in local govenment elections, many voters cast a postal vote or a pre-poll vote. However, with the nearest Palerang pre-poll centre in Bungendore, many electors who were absent from the area on election day and did not cast a postal vote would have faced a 80+km round trip to cast a pre-poll vote.
Voting is compulsory for all residential electors in local government elections, and the penalty for not voting in local government elections is $55.00.
If you were absent from the area on election day and did not cast a pre-poll or postal vote, you can be excused for failing to vote. You can do this in two ways:
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Call the NSW Electoral Commission call centre on 1300 135 736 to record your reason for not voting.
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A relative may lodge a LGE Excuse form (PDF 20 Kb) on your behalf, should you not be able to do so yourself. This form needs to be faxed to the NSW Electoral Commission on 02 9290 5991.
Should you fail to advise the NSW Electoral of your reason not to vote immediately after the election, you will be issued with a Penalty Notice.
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