Liberals call for local government elections late but welcome say Greens

"I'm glad that Mr O'Farrell has at last added his weight to Greens calls for the restoration of the community's voice in Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils,” said Ms Hale.

"It's about time. The Liberals have many times failed to join earlier calls by community members and The Greens for these local councils to be elected by residents rather than run by government appointees.

"The community may well smell a whiff of opportunism in Mr O'Farrell's statements, but The Greens will certainly hold him to his pledge if he is elected to Government, and demand that the Illawarra’s overdue elections are held promptly.

"Both Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils deserved to be sacked, but it is unfair to postpone elections for years on end.

"Both the disgraced Wollongong and Shellharbour Councils were Labor dominated and the administrators of those councils were appointed by a Labor Party Minister. This may have been a necessary evil at the time, but there is no justification for administrators staying in office any longer than is absolutely necessary, and certainly not for a period of time in excess of a full term of council as has been the case with Wollongong.

"In his report on Shellharbour Council in 2008 Mr Richard Colley noted evidence from the Department of Local Government that, 'the current ward system no longer accurately represents the communities that make up the area', and suggested a move away from the current six wards of two councillors.

"The peculiarities of the voting system for two-councillor wards produce a winner-takes-all outcome. The two-councillors-per-ward system in Wollongong and in Shellharbour was a significant contributor to the corruption and dysfunction of both councils.

“The next local government elections must be held with either no wards or with wards of no less than three councillors.

"This will allow a broader range of community opinion to be represented and will move councils to a more open and transparent decision-making culture.

"There should be a referendum of residents of Wollongong and of Shellharbour as soon as possible to decide whether there should be no wards or several wards of more than two councillors.

“I call on the Liberal and Labor parties to support the Greens’ proposals, which would allow for genuinely representative councils to move beyond the grubby past,” said Ms Hale .

Contact: Colin Hesse on 02 9230 3030 or 0401 719 124