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November 2022 Issue 18
News and views for North Sydney’s residential and business communities
www.northsydneysun.com.au
Deputy Mayor gets ALP preselection for state poll as survey shows surge in local support NSW Labor is experiencing a significant lift in local support, more than doubling its 2019 vote in North Shore, according to a new opinion poll conducted by Redbridge for Climate 200. The poll came as Labor announced it had preselected North Sydney’s deputy mayor Godfrey Santer as its candidate for North Shore in the March 2023 state election. The poll, which is being used by activist group North Sydney’s Independent to guide its strategy for the election, showed Labor on 29% of the primary vote, just 4% behind the Liberals on 33%. An unnamed independent candidate scored 24%. The percentages were weighted for local age and gender data. This compared to actual 2019 results of 47% for Liberal incumbent Felicity Wilson, 20% for independent Carolyn Corrigan and 13% for Labor candidate Michael Lester.
The poll is a tremendous boost for Santer, a former diplomat and small business owner. The poll suggests that the vote for an independent candidate rises to 34% if they were similar to Kylea Tink, the independent federal MP for North Sydney who was first spotted by North Sydney’s Independent and encouraged to run. Under this scenario, the Liberal vote rises to 35% and the Labor vote falls to 20%. What makes this result unusual is that 23% of those who said they would vote for a Kylea Tink-style independent said they did not recall Tink’s name while a further 31% were unsure. Another aspect that casts doubt on this result: around half of North Shore falls under a different federal independent, Zali Stegall. The poll of 600 voters was released as North Sydney’s Independent indicated they were wrapping up a process
to select a candidate for the election. In a note to supporters, coconvenor Denise Shrivell wrote: “Our expectation continues to be that Larissa Penn will run as an independent in the seat of Willoughby so we decided to first focus on the seat of Lane Cove and then based on strong community feedback we also took on the seat of North Shore. The search for candidates has taken longer than we envisaged, as we’re asking members of our community to take on significant, lifechanging roles. We’ve been honoured to have spoken with and met many amazing people through this process. We’re truly a fortunate community. I can tell you that we are close to finalising candidate selection - and then will go through the process of preparing all the collateral and assets required to launch their campaigns.”
Godfrey Santer
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Change coming at North Sydney Council as Alanya Drummond announces departure, café owner John Lepouris set to replace Councillor Alanya Drummond is planning to step down from her position, the North Sydney Sun can exclusively reveal. Under the countback system used to fill vacancies at North Sydney Council, it appears likely that the number two candidate on her 2021 election ticket, local small business owner John Lepouris, will be chosen to replace her. Drummond decided to make the move after her spouse took a career opportunity interstate in Perth. “I am eligible to continue serving as councillor. In the past other councillors have continued to serve from interstate and even overseas, but I feel it is the right thing to stand down,” she told the Sun on 31 October. Drummond said she is “currently dividing my time between east and west, travelling back and forth frequently, so will continue serving my community until the start of the new year, at which time I will vacate my seat.” She continues to be employed as a lecturer at the University of NSW
where she teaches in the school of Built Environment. Under the countback system employed by North Sydney Council, votes above the line for Drummond’s Team Jilly should be distributed to Lepouris, the number two candidate on her ticket. This would see Lepouris gain around .75 of a quota, comfortably ahead of the nearest contenders, Real Independents’ number two candidate with an effective .39-.54 of a quota and Jessica Keen, with .39 of a quota. Drummond told the Sun: “I remain committed to the North Sydney area and connected through a wide network of residents, small business owners, family and friends. But I do not feel that I can effectively contribute to the local dialogue from a distance.” “It has been an honour to serve the community of North Sydney for the past five years, and I wish to thank the local community for their trust in reelecting me for a second term,” she added. “I regret not being able to complete the remaining year and a half left
of this council term and finish the important work that is in progress.” Drummond said she was “particularly” passionate about waste reduction and proud to have championed food organics waste collection and textile recycling in the LGA. “I’m really, really excited earlier in the year to have introduced the trial recycling program with RecycleSmart so that complex recycling can be collected from your doorstep. I know how difficult it is to get to a large recycling centre and being able to facilitate realistic and convenient ways to recycle bulky, complex recyclables like textiles is a massive achievement.” “The other initiative that I’m extremely proud of is advocating for kerbside organic waste collection. Again, the ability for homeowners to have a convenient kerbside collection of food waste, which is our other major waste product that typically fills a huge portion of our landfill, that can instead be diverted to composting and organics waste recycling to avoid land-
Alanya Drummond & John Lepouris
fill is the other environmental initiative that I’m so proud of. We’ve been in the process of setting up a trial for multi-residential dwellings. And I Continued on page 3