WENTWORTH Shire ratepayers will not go to the polls in September to elect a new council as planned.
The New South Wales Government this week announced that due to the current COVID-19 situation in the state, Local Government elections will now take place in December.
The election of Wentworth councillors was originally due to take place on September last year before it was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions to September 4 this year.
However, an escalating outbreak of the virus in New South Wales, predominantly across Sydney, forced the government to further delay the elections until at least Saturday, December 4.
Nominations to become a Wentworth Shire Councillor were due to open on Monday this week, however that has also been postponed until Monday, October 25, closing on Wednesday, November 3.
The NSW Government has worked with the Electoral Commission and NSW Health to implement a plan to allow voters to cast their ballot safely in person, by post or online.iVote (electronic voting) will also be available for the first time in the local council elections.
NSW Government has also implemented changes to pre-poll to ensure that voters have 13 days to cast their ballot, reducing congestion on polling day.
Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock said the decision, after extensive consultation with and advice from the NSW Electoral Commission and NSW Health, has been made in response to the COVID-19 situation.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and current Public Health Orders impacting Greater Sydney, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the Local Government elections until later this year,” Mrs Hancock said.
“We have taken this step to postpone the election to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our communities, voters, polling staff and candidates.”
The NSW Government has made available a total of $57 million for the elections in 2021, including $37 million to deliver them in a COVID safe way.
Under the Local Government Act 1993, council elections are scheduled to be held on the second Saturday in September every four years.
